


The Playmaker and The Power Forward

by Aeon_Wolf



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Basketball AU, But Avalance endgame, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Middle School/High School/College AU, Slow Burn, Some Oliver/Sara & Nyssa/Sara, There's a lot of other characters too, arrowverse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-06-15 03:53:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15404373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aeon_Wolf/pseuds/Aeon_Wolf
Summary: Basketball was not a sport Sara Lance thought she'd play when she was ten years old. At all. But when her new friend Amaya Jiwe convinces her to go out for the team, she falls in love. In more ways than one.orA Basketball/Teenage/Friends to Lovers AU.





	1. Prologue: Moving In

I.

Quintin grunted as he set the last box down in his youngest daughter’s new room. In their new house. In a new city. Sara was currently sitting on her bed, still a little put out with her parents that they had to move from Star City to Central City. But her father had been transferred from the Star City Police Department to the one in Central City, so up the Lance family moved. Quintin sat on the bed next to Sara, putting an arm around her shoulder. “You’ll be fine, sweetheart. New city. New adventures. New people.” He tried. Sara just shrugged.

“I liked my old friends back home.” She grumbled. Quintin sighed, ruffling her hair before standing up to go unload more boxes.

“This is our home now, kiddo.” He said before he left her to her brooding. Sara sat on the bed, her arms folded for a couple more minutes before she relented and got up to open the nearest box. Inside was a bunch of clothes that needed to be put away. She just sighed, before pulling out the first pair of jeans she saw, folding them up and putting them in her dresser. A few pairs of pants in and there’s a knock at her door. Sara turned around to see her older sister Laurel leaning against the door frame.

“Don’t you have your own unpacking to do?” Sara grouched. Laurel chuckled, entering the room and sitting on Sara’s bed.

“Sure, but I thought I’d offer to help you out first.” She said. Sara rolled her eyes before going back to the pair of pants she was holding.

“I’m doing just fine on my own, thanks.” She retorted. Laurel shrugged.

“Suit yourself. No need to get pissy.” The elder girl replied, hopping off the bed. “Remember, our first day of school is Monday.” She said before exiting the room, shutting the door behind her. Sara sighed. She was not excited to start a new school. Starting middle school was tough enough. But to top it off, none of her friends from Starling City Elementary were going to be there with her. Instead, she’d be starting sixth grade at Highland Middle School all on her own. The only other person she’d know would be Laurel. Though she supposed her sister probably did have it harder, being an eighth grader. At least with various elementary schools pouring into one middle school, there would be a vast array of people who didn’t know each other starting out. A good opportunity to make some new friends. Whereas at Laurel’s age, cliques and groups had already been established.

Sara smiled to herself, opening another box and taking a shirt out to hang it up and put it in her closet. There was another knock at the door. “Come in,” Sara yelled. The door opened to reveal her mother Dinah.

“I’m going to go to pick up Big Belly Burger for dinner. What do you want?” She asked. Sara thought for a second.

“Just a normal burger. Maybe a side of fries?” She asked. Her mother nodded.

“Will do sweetheart. How are you settling in?” She questioned. Sara just shrugged, gesturing to her boxes of clothes.

“Just putting stuff away.” She replied. Dinah nodded.

“Well, I’ll leave you to it.” She said, shutting the door slowly with a click. Sara turned went back to sorting through her boxes.

II.

“Sara, food is here,” Laurel yelled from the base of the stairs.

“Coming!” Sara yelled back, setting down a lamp she had unpacked. She padded downstairs walking into their new kitchen. Her parents were setting out everyone’s orders on the counter.

“That one is yours, Sara,” Quintin said, pointing to a burger box and container of fries. Sara nodded, going over to one of the cabinets, above the sink, searching for a glass.

“What are you looking for kiddo?” Her father asked her.

“Drinking glass.” She mumbled. Quintin went over to a box that was near their dining table, reaching into it and pulling out a glass. He went over and handed it to his daughter. She accepted the glass gratefully.

“Thanks, dad.” She said, going over to the refrigerator and filling it with water. She grabbed her food from the counter and sat at one of the stools at their counter, opening the burger box.

“Are you two excited for school on Monday?” Dinah asked the two girls. Both of them shrugged.

“I just want to get through the year and get to high school,” Laurel admitted. Sara took a bite of her burger.

“What about you Sara?” Quintin asked, sitting at the table with his food.

“Hoping I’ll make some friends.” She said after she had swallowed her bite.

“I’m sure you’ll make friends honey. What’s not to like about you?” Dinah said, taking a bite of salad. Laurel suppressed a laugh and Sara glared at her sister who smiled innocently.

“Shut up Laurel,” Sara grumbled, stuffing a couple of fries in her mouth.

“Girls, be nice,” Quintin warned.

“Sorry dad.” The two said in unison, going back to their food.

“I’ll drive you two to school on Monday. I need to go to work and get situated.” Quintin said to Laurel and Sara, who both gave him a thumbs up.

“Great, we aren’t stuck riding the stupid school bus on the first day,” Sara said. Laurel nodded in agreement.

“Oh, that reminds me,” Dinah said, getting up and grabbing a folder off of the counter and handing it to Laurel. “I picked up your school schedules for you the other day.” Laurel opened the folder, pulling out two pieces of paper. She handed the one with Sara’s name on it to her sister.

Sara skimmed over the schedule. It looked so different from what she was used to. In elementary school, you just got a single teacher and they directed their students where to go when. In middle school, she had six different classes throughout the day. Sure, she had seen Laurel’s timetable in the past, but it was different to have one of her own. It looks pretty generic to her though. Math, English, science, history, dance which she had substituted for her physical education class, and her elective. There was a small number of electives for sixth graders, so she had gone with band. She didn’t anticipate continuing with it as she got further into school, but she had to pick something.

“Thanks mom,” Laurel said, looking over her to schedule. Sara moved to take a peek but Laurel held the paper out of her reach teasingly.

“Hey! I just wanted to see.” Sara complained. Laurel laughed.

“It’s not that interesting.” She said. “It’s just school.” Sara huffed, sitting back in her chair and stuffing a few more fries in her mouth. Laurel took pity on her sister, handing her the piece of paper. Sara took it, hesitating before handing her sister her own as a peace offering. For the moment.

Sara looked at her sister’s timetable. It had some similar subjects, though obviously different levels and teachers. Math, English, science, and history were all in common. Though Laurel elected to take PE rather than dance like her younger sister. And instead of band, she had decided to sign up for yearbook instead. Sara handed the paper back to Laurel in exchange for her own. “You were right. Not that interesting.” Sara said, taking a bit of her burger. Laurel laughed, shouldering her sister.

“I told you.” Laurel teased. Sara laughed, continuing to eat her dinner. Their parents smiled, hoping that this was a sign of good things to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! New story. Very different from my last Avalance story. 
> 
> As you might have figured from the tags and summary, it's a basketball AU. I had been toying between basketball and soccer but as I've never played soccer and I did play basketball in school for 3 years, I figured I'd have an easier time with basketball. I also have this bad habit of writing relationships just starting and then ending the story. Not in this one! We will end up exploring Avalance in its entirety. There's going to more dialogue surrounding the basketball aspect, rather than the school aspect, but I'm sure there will be some school/classroom scenes as well. 
> 
> But a few notes before we get started:
> 
> \- There will be Oliver/Sara and Nyssa/Sara before we get to Avalance. These are not endgame ships in this story. And there aren't going to be any love triangles. But I do think it's realistic to have those relationships before we get to Avalance since we're following Sara and the gang from middle school, to high school, to college. There's ample time to get Avalance together and I do think her relationships with Oliver and Nyssa shaped her personality in many ways. They're important relationships in her canon character development. And I'd like to explore that here. The relationships won't get explicit or deep. But they will be present at some points in the story. 
> 
> \- This is probably going to be slow burn as fuck. I wrote out the general idea and storyline for this beforehand, but there's a lot of specific details I haven't worked out yet. Therefore there's a lot of author creativity to be had if I want to change the story in some ways. So please feel free to suggest scenes or scenarios you'd like to see in the story. 
> 
> \- There's a lot of Arrowvese characters in this story besides Legends. And their ages all vary. Though for simplicities sake, most of the characters will be plus/minus two years from Sara's age at any given time. There are a few minor characters who will be younger siblings of characters, such as Wally and Thea, but other than that, most characters are around the same age. This was mostly to allow all these characters to interact in a school setting and not have it be a weird adult/teenager relationship which I don't particularly care for. They also all reside in Central City for the same reason. 
> 
> \- There will be a coming out story of sorts for Sara. It's not going to be the main focus of the story, but it will be there. 
> 
> \- I don't generally write smut but the rating may be subject to change if I decide to. 
> 
> \- Playmaker and Power Forward are both terms to describe individuals, roles, and play styles on the court. I'm sure you can guess who is who. 
> 
> Any other questions can be asked here or on Tumblr at aeon-wolf.tumblr.com.
> 
> Mistakes are my own. Don't own any of the characters. Blah, blah, blah. You know the drill.


	2. 6th Grade

I.

“Bye Dad. Thanks for the ride.” Laurel said, getting out of the front seat, Sara climbing out of the back. The two girls waved to their dad who waved back before driving away. Laurel looked at her younger sister. “Ready?” She asked. Sara just shrugged, playing with the canary necklace around her neck.

“I guess.” She said in a small voice. She was a little nervous, but hopeful. Laurel nodded, walking in the front doors, Sara right on her heels. The two entered the main building, Laurel noting her surroundings while Sara looked up in awe. The school was much larger than she was used to, plus there were way more students hanging around, waiting for the first bell to ring.

“I’m going to go find my first class, you think you can find yours on your own or do you need help?” Laurel offered. Sara huffed, shaking her head quickly.

“I can do it myself.” She insisted, not wanting to rely on her older sister on the first day. Laurel just shrugged.

“Suit yourself.” She said, ruffling Sara’s hair before walking off. Sara pulled her schedule out of her pocket, unfolding it and frowning. Science was her first class with Stein. Sara looked up, briefly regretting sending Laurel off. She had no clue where to go. And she had no friends to explore with. She sighed, noting the classroom number, 206. She looked around in search of a school map but before she could locate one, someone tapped on her shoulder. She turned her attention to the side, a small black girl gave her a friendly smile and a wave.

“Hi. You look a little lost.” She observed. Sara nodded.

“I’m new.” She replied. The girl nodded.

“Do you know where your class is?” She asked. Sara nodded.

“Math with Stein in room 206.” She supplied. The girl smiled widely.

“Hey! I’m in that class too, we can go together.” She said excitedly. Sara was taken a little aback at the excitability of the girl but gratefully accepted the help. “I’m Amaya, by the way.” The girl that Sara now knew as Amaya said before dragging Sara off, out of the main building and into the courtyard area in the back.

“I’m Sara Lance.” She said politely. Amaya nodded.

“So Sara, what school did you go to before Highland? If we’re in the same math class, you must be in 6th grade too.” Amaya deduced. Sara nodded.

“Starling City Elementary.” She replied. “I just moved to Central City.” She added. Amaya nodded sympathetically.

“So you really don’t know anyone here then huh?” Sara shook her head.

“Nope.” She said, a hint of sadness in her voice. Amaya grabbed Sara’s hand, leading her to a building that had a plate near the front doors that said 200. Amaya opened the door, leading Sara into the building.

“Well, I know my fair share of people here, you should hang out with me and my friends!” Amaya said excitedly. Sara was a little surprised that the girl had accepted her into her social circle so easily, but she accepted the invitation.

“That would be great,” Sara said. “I was kind of worried I wouldn't make any friends here.” She said a little shyly. Amaya pat Sara on the shoulder.

“Middle school is the perfect time to make new friends!” She exclaimed as the two stood outside room 206. Sara gave her new friend a small smile. “You should sit with me and my friends at lunch,” Amaya suggested. “I think they’ll like you.”

“How do you figure that?” Sara asked. “You barely know me.” Amaya just shrugged.

“I’m good at reading people.” She said cryptically. Sara tilted her head to the side but didn’t question it.

Before too long, an elderly man walked over to their classroom and unlocked the door, smiling at the two girls who were the only ones standing outside the classroom. “Hello, I’m Dr. Stein. I’ll be your math teacher this year. Please, come in.” He said, gesturing for the two young girls to enter the room. They both gave their teacher a small wave before walking into the classroom.

There were long tables with two chairs each, so Amaya dragged Sara towards a table near the middle of the room and ushered Sara into the seat. Sara sat down, shrugging off her backpack and setting it on the ground, looking around the room. It was different from her classrooms at Starling City Elementary. Where those rooms were personalized for the class and teacher who used them, this was more generic. A few math-related posters on the wall, a whiteboard and a projector hanging above them.

Dr. Stein moved to the front of the room, setting down his own bag by the desk, grabbing some half sheets of paper out of it, followed by a small packet of stapled papers and setting them on the front table. He looked at the two girls. “If you two would like to come get a survey and a syllabus, feel free.” He said, leaning back against his desk as more students started to trudge into the room and pick a seat.

“I’ll get them for you,” Amaya said, bouncing out of her chair to grab some papers for Sara and herself. Sara nodded gratefully. She watched Amaya say hi to their teacher before coming back to their shared table. She handed Sara a packet and a half sheet.

“For everyone who is coming in, please come grab a half sheet and a syllabus and then find a seat.” Dr. Stein said to the students filtering into the classroom. Sara looked at the half sheet which had a few get to know you questions on it. She reached into her backpack to grab the pencil she knew they’d need later and turned to Amaya.

“So, where did you go before Highland?” Sara questioned, curious to get to know her new friend. Amaya grinned.

“Central City Elementary.” She said with a shrug. “A lot of the kids here went there but there are a few other elementary schools that feed into Highland too. You’ll meet some later.” Amaya said brightly, clearly excited at the prospect of introducing Sara to her friends. Sara, for her part, with equal parts nervous and grateful. Nervous because she was still in a strange school with new people. But grateful for Amaya taking her under her wing and helping her make friends.

When the bell rang to signify the start of class, Dr. Stein stood at the front of the classroom, waiting for everyone to quiet down. “Now class, welcome to the first day of school. Most likely the first day for many of you in middle school. Please raise your hand if you are a 6th grader.” He asked. The vast majority of hands in the room went up, including Sara and Amaya, but Sara did notice a couple of hands down. “So you two are seventh grade I assume?” Dr. Stein asked. The remaining students nodded, clearly wanting to keep their heads down, being forced into a math class one below their grade.

“Well, for the first day of class, we’ll just be going over the syllabus and filling out some surveys to help me get to know you all.” He said. “Please take out a pencil and fill out the half sheet, also feel free to get to know your tablemate as they will be your partner for group activities for the rest of the year.” Dr. Stein said before letting them get to their work. Amaya gave Sara a high five.

“We get to be partners for the rest of the year!” Amaya said happily. Sara returned the smile, happy she got to be paired up with her friend. She looked at the half sheet and started filling in answers. Most of them were generic get to know you questions such as their names, grade, if they had any nicknames, etc. Most of them were filled out without much thought. After the two girls had finished, Sara offered to take Amaya’s and give them to Dr. Stein.

She approached the elderly man’s desk, giving him a shy smile and handing him the papers. “Thank you…” He looked at the sheets. “Ms. Lance?” He questioned. She nodded in affirmation. “Well, I hope you enjoy your first year at Highland.” He said kindly before she returned to her seat.

While the pair waited for everyone else to complete their surveys, Amaya started questioning Sara. “So, do you plan on playing any sports next year?” She asked. Sixth graders were only allowed to go out for track. The rest of the sports were reserved for seventh and eighth graders. Sara shrugged.

“I don’t know. I hadn’t planned on it.” She replied. Amaya’s shoulders sagged a little.

“You should think about it! I want to play basketball next year.” She said. Sara bit her lip.

“I’m a little short, don’t you think?” Sara asked. Amaya shook her head.

“No! You could play point guard. You don’t have to be tall for that.” Amaya said. Sara shrugged again.

“I don’t know. I have a year to think about it.” She said finally. Amaya nodded but before she had a chance to respond, Dr. Stein called attention.

“Now that I have everyone’s surveys, we can start going over the class syllabus.”

II.

The rest of Sara’s morning classes went relatively smoothly. She didn’t get lost, luckily enough. Once she had figured out the layout of the school, it was pretty easy to find her classes. That morning she also had English and History. Amaya wasn’t in those classes with her, though her newest friend had agreed to find her before lunch started. Sara mostly just sat in the back and kept to herself while her classmates who were clearly friends caught up. Sara did meet a friendly girl named Caitlin Snow in both her English and History classes who she got along well with. She had sat next to Caitlin in English and after initial introductions, she decided she liked Caitlin. And she willingly sat next to her after finding out that they shared their history class.

The morning classes went pretty similarly to Sara’s math class. The teachers would pass out a class syllabus and had students introduce themselves to their neighbors before using the remaining time to go over the syllabus.

True to her word, after Sara’s history class let out, Amaya was standing outside the room for her. “My classroom is the one next door,” Amaya said in response to Sara’s questioning look. Caitlin, who had followed Sara out of the room, greeted Amaya.

“Hey, Amaya.” She said. “You know Sara?” She questioned. Amaya nodded brightly.

“Hi Caitlin, yeah. We share a math class. Ready to go to lunch?” She asked. Caitlin and Sara both nodded and followed Amaya towards the lunch room.

Once the three students entered the room, Amaya searched around the lunch room. She quickly found her friends and drug Caitlin and Sara over to a packed table and sat down, Sara and Caitlin sitting on either side of her.

“Hey, Amaya. Caitlin. How was your first morning at Highland?” A blonde girl asked. Amaya shrugged, as did Caitlin.

“It’s school. It’s as good as can be. Glad we all get to be together again though.” Caitlin replied. The blonde nodded, looking at Sara.

“Made a new friend?” The girl asked Amaya.

“Yeah, this is Sara Lance. She’s from Star City.” Amaya introduced her to the kids sitting around the table with them. At least the ones paying attention. “Think we should go around and at least tell her everyone’s name?” Amaya asked. The blonde nodded.

“I’m Felicity. I’m a year older than Amaya, but everyone here went to Central City Elementary together and most of us have grown up together.” She said to Sara. Felicity nudged the girl next to her.

“Oh, Hi. I’m Iris.” She said with a small wave at Sara, who smiled back. The guy sitting next to Iris was paying more attention to his meal than the new kid sitting at the table that Iris had to smack him on the shoulder.

“What?” He asked with his mouth half full of sandwich.

“Introduce yourself to the new kid.” She hissed. The guy looked up and zeroed in on Sara.

“Mick Rory.” He grunted before going back to his sandwich. The guy sitting next to Mick had been staring from across the table at Sara, making the girl a little wary under his gaze.

“Leonard Snart. You can call me Leo.” He said in a smooth voice. And the final guy at the table gave Sara a friendly smile.

“Oliver Queen.” He said. “You’re Sara Lance?” He asked, giving Sara a once over. The girl nodded, biting her lip at Oliver’s appraisal of her.

“Well, that’s everyone,” Amaya said. “Though I think Barry is around somewhere.” She added. Iris nodded.

“He’s getting lunch.” She answered.

Sara smiled, grabbing her bagged lunch out of her backpack, inserting herself into a conversation with Caitlin, Iris, and Amaya about how everyone’s summer had been. She felt someone tap on her shoulder before long though. She turned to see Oliver Queen sitting next to her, a friendly smile on his face. “Hi. You’re Oliver, right?” Sara questioned, turning to face him. The boy nodded.

“Yeah. How’s your first day going? Amaya and Caitlin seem to have befriended you quickly.” He mentioned. Sara looked at the two who were still deep in conversation with Iris, looking back at Oliver, nodding.

“I’m grateful, to be honest.” She admitted. “I didn’t know if I’d make any friends.” She said with a shrug. Oliver tilted his head to the side a bit.

“Really? You seem nice enough to make friends wherever you go.” He said leaning against the back of his chair. Sara blushed a little bit.

“I guess. I think my sister probably has it harder. At least I’m in sixth grade and groups are still being formed. Eighth grade, most of the groups are already tight.” She said. Oliver nodded.

“Who’s your sister?” He asked.

“Laurel Lance.” She answered.

“Ah.” He said. “I think she was in my yearbook class.” He recalled. She nodded.

“Yeah, that was probably her.”

“She seemed nice too. Outgoing though.” He said with a chuckle. Sara laughed.

“Yeah, that sounds like my sister.” Laurel had always been the more vocal and outspoken of the two sisters, though Sara had her own rebellious streak on occasion. The two talked for a little longer before the bell rang signaling it was time to go to their next class.

“What do you have next?” Oliver asked. Sara recalled her schedule.

“Science. With Brown.” She replied.

“Do you mind if I walk with you? My math class is next to his room.” He asked. Sara nodded, gathering her things as Oliver stood up and slung his backpack over his shoulder. He gestured in the direction of the cafeteria door. “Ladies first.” He teased. Sara rolled her eyes, shoving him playfully before walking away, the boy close on her heels.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! I've been on vacation for a week and haven't had a ton of time to write. 
> 
> We're going to largely skim over Sara's 6th grade year outside of introducing some of the main characters going forward such as Caitlin, Amaya, and Oliver. And setting up the _brief_ relationship between Oliver and Sara. Since this is a sports-focused story, we're going to skim over a lot of the school years and classroom stuff. I've always thought unless it's a dedicated high school AU, that kind of stuff is sort of boring. 
> 
> This story is somewhat based on my experience of playing basketball in middle school and high school. School sports may work differently where ever you guys went but for me, only 7th and 8th graders were allowed to play sports except track which everyone could participate in. So for the basketball portion of the story, Sara's 6th grade year isn't that relevant outside Sara making new friends.


	3. Oliver

I.

Sara’s 6th-grade year went far better than she could have hoped. After befriending those like Amaya Jiwe, Caitlin Snow and Oliver Queen, she quickly became part of the popular crowd at Highland Middle School. Classes were still, well, classes, but she tolerated them. “Hey, Sara,” Amaya said, sliding into the seat next to Sara. “Last day of school, ready for the summer?” She asked. Sara shrugged. “Oh c’mon Sara, you’ve gotta have plans at least.” She said. Stein had decided to just allow the class to socialize on the last day and sign yearbooks. Nothing was going to get done anyway. 

“Nothing concrete. Ollie asked me to hang out over the summer though.” She mentioned. She and Oliver had struck somewhat of an awkward friendship over the year. She loved him to death, he was always supportive of her and helped her get acclimated to a new middle school alongside Caitlin and Amaya. But her relationship with him was somewhat awkward because the two often danced around any other feelings they had for each other. Sara wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but she had always found Oliver rather attractive. 

“Are you going to? I’ve told you time and time again, he likes you.” Amaya insisted. Sara shrugged but nodded. 

“I think so.” Amaya grinned at the admission. 

“Oooo, so are you going to become the power couple when we come back next year?” Amaya teased. Sara rolled her eyes and shook her head. 

“I like Ollie but we’re nowhere near that. Yet.” Sara replied. Amaya bumped Sara’s shoulder. 

“Yet, huh?” She clung on to the last word in Sara’s sentence. Sara shoved her friend. “You’ve gotta admit, you two would make a cute couple,” Amaya said sincerely. Sara shrugged. 

“I guess.” She said, not wanting to talk about it further. She liked Oliver, enough to consider dating him certainly, but she also didn’t want to rock the boat too much, despite having close friends, she still sort of felt like the outsider. She didn't want it to go south and be subject to having an awkward energy between her and Oliver since they were in the same friend circle.

Though Sara had to admit Laurel had it far worse that year. Her sister had a hard time adjusting to their new school and new people. Sara was fortunate in a way that Amaya had quickly taken Sara under her wing. Laurel had to go it alone and was much more an outsider than her younger sister. She had made some friends in Curtis Holt and Mike Matthews who were both in her grade, and surprisingly, Oliver Queen who seemed to seek out Laurel’s friendship after striking one with Sara. 

The bell rang and Amaya and Sara both bid each other goodbye and walked to their next class. 

II.

“Hey, Sara,” Oliver said, sliding into the seat next to Sara at their lunch table. Sara smiled. 

“Hi, Ollie.” She said, pulling out her lunch. 

“So, what are your plans for the summer?” He asked. She just shrugged. 

“Hang around probably. I think Dad plans on taking us on vacation sometime in July, but I’m not sure where; maybe National City?” She replied. He nodded.

“Well, my invitation still stands. My family is taking a beach trip and I’d love for you to come.” He offered. He had invited Sara a few weeks ago, but she had been rather noncommittal about it. She didn’t want to feel like she was intruding on his family vacation. Though he had brushed her off. He had run it by his parents and his parents were more than happy to bring Sara along and get to know the girl their son talked about so much. 

“I don’t know Ollie. I wouldn’t want to intrude…” She trailed off, taking a bite of her sandwich. He rolled his eyes. 

“I told you it’s fine Sara. My parents were fine with it. I think my little sister wants to meet you too. Though she is only two, so I think she just wants to have a female playmate.” He said. “It’s not a burden I promise. It’s not like my parents don’t have money to spare.” He just shrugged. That was one thing that had surprised Sara to no end. Oliver Queen was the son of Robert and Moira Queen, his father the CEO of Queen Consolidated. She would have thought a kid like Oliver would have been sent to some uptight boarding school for rich kids. But Robert thought it would be good for his children to be socialized in normal society and not locked away in a boarding school for the wealthy.

“If you’re sure…” She said. She had to admit, the idea of spending part of the summer with Oliver was rather appealing to her. Not only because she liked Oliver, but because with her father’s job, they didn’t have a lot of extra money to indulge in long and lavish vacations. Usually, it was a weekend in a different city and going to a few amusement parks. Sometimes a full week if they were lucky. 

“I’m sure.” He said eagerly. Sara nodded, Oliver, giving her a high five. She chuckled, deciding not to leaving him hanging. “We’re going to have so much fun!” He said excitedly. 

III.

“Oliver Queen?” Her father asked, loading dishes into the dishwasher. Sara nodded. 

“He said we’d be gone for only 3 weeks in August.” She said. Quintin straightened up, leaning against the counter. 

“Let me talk to your mother.” He said finally after a few seconds of silence. Sara nodded, knowing this was probably the closest she’d get to a flat out yet from him. She and Oliver had been texting and calling over the last month of their summer vacation, excitedly planning what they’d be doing. He had given her the details of their trip as soon as he knew them himself so Sara could give her parents enough time to ruminate on the idea of their youngest daughter spending 3 weeks with a guy from school and his family. 

Under normal circumstances, Quintin would have flat out said no, but he knew Oliver. The boy was friends with both his children and had been over to their house a few times over the last year, mostly on Sara’s behalf. He was a nice boy, respectful. And it wasn’t like he and his family could kidnap Sara and spirit her away. He was a police officer in Central City and formerly of Star City and Oliver’s parents were public figures. It was as safe as it could be. And Sara seemed excited at the idea. 

The Lance family hadn’t been able to take their family vacation because Quintin, despite his protests, hadn’t been able to take a vacation because they had a shortage of officers that summer due to department layoffs and they needed all hands on deck. He wanted to allow his daughter to enjoy the summer and this opportunity with the Queen family would grant her that. 

So he and his wife allowed their daughter to spend the 3 weeks with the Queens. Though Laurel was less than enthused and not for any reason one might think. “You’re seriously going on vacation with Oliver?” Lauren questioned her sister as Sara threw clothes into a suitcase. She looked up at Laurel. 

“Yeah. Why? Jealous?” She questioned teasingly. Laurel rolled her eyes. 

“No, I have no interest in Oliver. But I just want you to be careful.” Laurel said, a hint of protectiveness in her voice. 

“Of what?” Sara questioned. It wasn’t like she was oblivious to the intentions of some guys and men in the world. She was the daughter of a police officer after all. But Oliver was nice, so was his family. Laurel knew that as well. 

“I just… Sometimes you don’t know people as well as you think you do. I’m just asking you to be careful, that’s all.” Laurel said, her tone softening a little. She loved Sara and just didn’t want anything to happen to her. Oliver had often expressed his interest in her little sister. Laurel wasn’t totally happy about the relationship, just because Sara was her little sister. She was bound to be protective. But she respected Sara’s choices. And if Sara decided to choose Oliver, Laurel wouldn’t get in the way. She just wanted Sara to go into her vacation with Oliver with her eyes wide open. 

“I know Laurel.” Sara rolled her eyes. Laurel leaned against the doorframe. 

“I’ll bring you back something,” Sara said, a peace offering to Laurel. Sara’s older sister smiled, pushing off the doorframe and pulling her sister into a hug. 

“Thanks squirt.” She said, releasing her sister and ruffling her hair. 

“Hey!” Sara exclaimed, pouting. Laurel just laughed. 

IV.

Oliver opened the door of their car, hopping out and helping Sara out of the car behind him. Sara looked up in awe at the large beach house they had stopped in front of. “This is so cool.” She said. Oliver grinned, grabbing Sara’s hand and pulling her forward. 

“Let me show you around!” He said, dragging Sara into the house. Robert and Moira Queen chuckled at their son’s enthusiasm with Sara Lance. It was clear to them that Oliver really liked this girl. They did as well. Sara was a polite, well spoken young woman. Oliver often was a somewhat withdrawn and moody person at home, but around Sara, he became far more sociable. 

Oliver dragged his friend into the house, showing her around the entryway and into the dining room and kitchen. They explored the lounging area with a rather large TV hanging from the wall and then she followed him out to their deck in the back that overlooked the beach with the steps down to the sand. “This is awesome.” She said, watching the ocean coming in and out. Oliver nodded. 

“Yeah, this is going to be an awesome vacation. I don’t usually bring people so I’ve only had my parents, Thea and a couple local kids to hang out with. We can go play on the beach, go swimming, explore the town.” He said. He may have wanted to get closer to Sara on their vacation, but he genuinely liked that he had a friend to share this with. He liked their group at school, Barry was probably one of his best friends, but Sara was different. 

He felt like he could be more himself with her, rather than Oliver Queen, heir to Queen Consolidated. Not very many people made him feel like that. More than even his own feelings, he wanted to thank Sara for that in the ways he could. “C’mon, let me show you your room.” 

V.

The next three weeks went by rather quickly. Each day was spent getting up around 8:00 AM, eating breakfast with Oliver, sometimes joined by his parents and Thea, then she and Oliver would run off and do stuff together. She found it rather easy to find things to do with him. They would sometimes go into town and find something to amuse themselves there. There were countless shops and small restaurants that they could find things for their friends back home and try some fresh fish dishes, some were better than others. Sara found a small canary charm necklace for her sister Laurel which she quickly scooped up and bought for her. 

Other days they would go down to the beach, horsing around in the ocean, flying kites and making sand castles, sometimes accompanied by Thea that seemed to have warmed up rather quickly to Sara. Or at least as warm as a two-year-old could be. In the evening, often times Robert would make a fire in their fire pit and they would all roast marshmallows and Robert would tell embarrassing stories of Oliver’s early years, much to Oliver’s displeasure. 

Sara was surprised by how warm Oliver’s parents were in private. She had met them a couple of times before, but they had always been polite to a fault, but distant. Maybe it was the setting. Maybe it was they were more accepting of Sara in Oliver’s life. 

Their last night before going back to Central City, Oliver dragged Sara out onto the deck to stargaze with him. “I’m going to miss this,” Sara mumbled. Oliver nodded, leaning forward, his arms resting on the railings. 

“Yeah, school starts again soon. My last year at Highland. It’ll be weird to go to high school the year after. “ He admitted. Sara nodded. 

“I don’t even have to think about that yet.” She replied. Oliver groaned. 

“You’re lucky. High school being so close makes life seem more real.” He said. 

“Yeah, the only thing I have to decide is if I want to drop any of my classes and transfer into something else. Oh, and Amaya still is trying to convince me to join the basketball team.” She said. Oliver turned to watch Sara. 

“Do you want to?” He asked curiously. Sara had never expressed a desire to play sports, but Amaya always tried to rope Oliver into convincing her. Insisted that Sara listened to him. Sara just shrugged. 

“I’ve thought about it. I just don’t know if I’ll be any good.” She admitted softly. Oliver put a hand on her shoulder. 

“If it matters, I think you should. You’ll have friends on the team. You’ll never find out if you’re good or not until you try. Besides, middle school sports aren’t really about being good.” He said with a shrug. “If you play, I’ll come to all your games and cheer in the bleachers.” He teased but was also rather sincere. 

“Really?” She asked. He just nodded. 

“I’ll even paint your number of my face.” He joked. Sara chuckled, shoulding him. He feigned stumbling. 

“Hey!” He said. “Rude.” Sara just rolled her eyes. 

“It’s getting late and we have to leave early tomorrow, we should go to bed.” She said, pushing off against the deck railing. He nodded. She turned to head back inside before he caught her arm, giving her enough slack to pull away if she wanted to. She didn’t. He pulled and turned her back towards him. 

“Good night Sara.” He said, leaning in and kissing her cheek, pulling back with an awkward look on his face. Sara blushed a little, smiling and nodding, Biting her lip, she turned to walk back into the house, leaving Oliver grinning to himself, internally cheering that she seemed to be receptive to his advances. And didn’t slap him in the face, which he knew she was capable of and would have done if she had been unhappy with him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know a lot of people reading this story for Avalance and going to possibly be unhappy about this chapter. I get that. But as I said at the beginning, I think Oliver's romantic relationship with Sara is an important landmark in her life. And something that will be briefly looked at here. Same with Nyssa. Again, that being said, Avalance is endgame and there will be a lot more Avalance content in the course of the story than any Oliver/Sara or Nyssa/Sara. 
> 
> Sara's sixth-grade year was largely skimmed over because it's not important to the story. The only part that is relevant is Sara's growing relationships with her friends, mainly Caitlin, Amaya, and Oliver, but we'll be exploring and growing those in the chapters to come and we'll be focusing on the basketball aspect in the next chapter, as well as meeting Ava in the next chapter. 
> 
> This middle school phase of the story, a lot of stuff is going to be skimmed over because the bulk of the story, relationship development, and whatnot are in Sara's high school years, but middle school is important to introducing most of the characters. As well as getting Sara interested in playing basketball. 
> 
> Anyway, sorry this took so long, I had a hard time trying to figure out how to write this chapter. It should be easier to go forward because we can focus on the basketball aspect, along with relationship/character development instead of trying to figure out how to get there.


	4. Ava

I.

“Hey, Sara!” Oliver said as she got out of her father’s car, waving goodbye to him before he drove off for work. Though not before he waved at Oliver and gave him a stern look. 

“Hi Ollie.” She replied with a smile. He approached her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into a hug. She grinned, putting her own arms around his neck, leaning into the hug. The two broke apart before Oliver leaned in and kissed her cheek before taking her hand and walking with her into the school building in search of their friends. 

After Oliver returned Sara from their vacation together, they had a few weeks until school started where Oliver began seriously pursuing Sara. The girl had caught his attention the first day of school the previous year. He sought a friendship, though he hoped that she would be receptive to something more in the future. So when she had accepted his advances during their time of vacation together, he spent the rest of the summer in pursuit of Sara Lance. And finally, she accepted. And they would start their next year of school as, likely, the power couple of Highland Middle School. The two were insanely popular, Oliver more so than Sara but he had grown up in the school community, it was to be expected. 

Sara walked beside Oliver, noting the occasional whisper of students noticing the two of them. She largely ignored them, her relationship with Oliver wasn’t up for judgment by other students. The couple found a group of their friends hanging out outside by the track. Amaya noticed them first. 

“Sara! Oliver!” She greeted them, hugging Sara. The blonde let go of Oliver’s hand, returning the hug with a grin. 

“Hi, Amaya.” She said as Oliver greeted Barry with a high five. Amaya pulled back. 

“So you took my advice?” She questioned with a waggle of her eyebrows. Sara rolled her eyes. 

“Oliver and I are dating if that’s what you’re asking.” She said, glancing at her new boyfriend. Amaya laughed. 

“I’m glad. The two of you are going to be the talk of the school for the next few weeks.” She said. Sara just groaned. 

“I had enough of people talking about me last year.” She complained. Amaya just shrugged. 

“That’s what happens when you date one of the most popular guys in school.” She said. Oliver walked over to the two friends, wrapping an arm around Sara’s waist. The blonde stood a little closer to Oliver. 

“Class starts soon, can I walk you to class?” He asked. Sara nodded, taking Oliver’s hand and grabbing her folded up schedule from her pocket. 

“English in 304.” She said. Oliver nodded. Sara said goodbye to Amaya, waving at Caitlin, Barry, and Iris as well before walking towards the proper building with Oliver.

II.

Sara didn’t have her first class of the day with anyone she knew well. She knew most people by their faces since they were all in the same grade, but didn’t know most names. There was one nerdy kid named Gary Green in her class, but beyond that, she really didn’t have a clue. So she sat near the back of the room by herself, hoping that there would be limited partner work that year. 

Their teacher, Mr. Wilson stood in the front of the room when the bell rang. “Ok everyone, welcome to 7th grade English, I’ll -” He started before the door to the classroom opened slowly, revealing a tall blonde that Sara didn’t even recognize by looks. The girl gave the teacher an apologetic look as the rest of the class had turned to stare at her. 

“I’m sorry I’m late, sir. I got lost. I’m new.” She volunteered. Mr. Wilson nodded. 

“Well, please take a seat, Ms…” He trailed off, waiting for a name. 

“Sharpe.” She said a little shyly, taking a seat near the front of the room, next to Gary Green. Sara could sympathize with being a new student, though joining a new school in 7th grade was clearly more of a hardship than she had experienced. More something that her sister Laurel had endured. 

Mr. Wilson continued the class in the normal “first day” fashion going over a syllabus and getting to know the students. He had all of them stand up, give their name and one fact about themselves. Sara learned that the new girl’s name was Ava Sharpe and she had moved to Central City from Fresno and her dad was also in law enforcement similarly to Sara’s father, except Ava’s father was a federal agent rather than local. Sara was somewhat impressed, though she knew from her father’s complaining that the feds weren’t always loved by the police force, often fighting over jurisdiction on various cases. 

The rest of Sara’s day went rather smoothly. She had her history class with Caitlin again this year and her dance class with Amaya and Iris. She enjoyed catching up with Caitlin in their shared history class. Caitlin’s summer had been pretty quiet, filled with mostly dreaming up inventions and stuff she wanted to create when she got older. Sara always had admired Caitlin’s creativity and drive. The girl knew she wanted to go into some science or engineering career when she grew up, where Sara had no clue at all.

During lunch, Sara met up with their group, sitting next to Oliver at their shared lunch table, various people chattering away about how their summer was and how classes were going, or if the person was named Mick Rory, was too busy eating to be a good conversationalist. 

“How was your summer, Sara?” Leo asked Sara. She just shrugged, relaying what she had done. Most of her retelling revolved around her vacation with Oliver and subsequently pursuing a relationship together. Leo just nodded, listening. He gave her a funny look when she mentioned that she was dating him, but remained silent. 

“What about you?” She asked. He just shrugged the question off, giving her a noncommittal answer of ‘nothing worth talking about.’ Sara frowned but didn’t question. Over the last year, she had learned that Leonard Snart was a very private person about his home life. He didn’t talk about his parents much nor his life outside of school in general. She had learned from Oliver that Leo didn’t have the best dad and his mom had passed away when he was a kid. She felt for him but respected his privacy. 

So she just nodded, turning her attention to Amaya who was chatting away with Iris. “So there’s a new kid this year,” Amaya said. 

“Her name is Ava.” Sara jumped in. Amaya looked at Sara questioningly. “She’s in my first period English class with Wilson.” She shrugged. 

“Oh, what’s she like?” Amaya asked. 

“She was late this morning but doesn’t really seem to talk that much. She sat next to Gary Green in class, seemed to talk to him some, but didn’t really pay much attention to everyone else. She’s from Fresno and her dad is with some federal law enforcement agency.” Sara relayed all the information she had. Amaya seemed to be scanning the lunchroom before she zeroed in on Ava sitting at a table with none other than Gary Green who seemed ecstatic that he had someone sitting with him. Gary was one of the biggest nerds of the school. He didn’t really fit in with the nerd group for some reason and was more often than not, the loner. 

Felicity, who jumped in on the conversation as Amaya pointed out the new girl to the table, frowned. “What’s a girl that looks like that doing with someone like Gary?” She asked. Sara rolled her eyes. 

“Gary is nice you know, if a little weird.” She admitted. She had talked to him a couple of times. He was awkward but strangely sweet. Sara thought it was his genuine enthusiasm about his interests. He wasn’t someone she’d hang out with long-term, his interests and hers not being particularly related, but she wasn’t as quick as some to write him off. Amaya nodded in agreement. 

“Yeah, it’s good he’s got a friend. He’s been lacking since I can remember.” She remarked, looking back at the two who seemed to be rather engrossed in conversation. Oliver looked their way as well. 

“What do you think of her?” He asked his girlfriend. Sara just shrugged. 

“Don’t really know enough to make a real judgment. Though I guess if she identifies with Gary, she’ll probably get labeled a nerd rather quickly. 

III. 

True to Sara’s prediction, as the weeks and months went by, Ava was quickly labeled a nerd along with Gary as he seemed to be her only friend, though Sara was a little more skeptical. She was a private person sure, she rarely interacted with anyone besides Gary and her teachers, at least from what Sara saw of her, but other than these few points, she didn’t know much about Ava. So while most of the student body wrote her off early, she took note of Ava. The girl seemed smart if her grades in their shared English class were any indication. She was easily top of their class despite Mr. Wilson being a very unforgiving grader. 

But those like Felicity and Iris, even Amaya wrote the girl off as one of the token nerds. Sara didn’t blame them, Ava showed all the trademarks of one, but the girl didn’t seem bothered by the label. Never particularly embraced or rejected her role on the social ladder. Mostly just kept to herself and after a while, people largely forgot about her.

As the year went on, Sara’s relationship with Oliver also grew, the two shared their first kiss a few weeks into the school year. They were easily the power couple at Highland. Sara didn’t particularly bask in the popularity like they made it seem on TV, rather focusing on her friends and on her boyfriend. The routine continued until around October when winter sport sign-ups started and Amaya started pestering Sara. 

“C’mon Sara, I need a friend on the team.” Amaya pled in their dance class one day. Sara looked skeptical. 

“You’ll have Caitlin.” She said, nodding to their other friend. Amaya rolled her eyes. 

“You know what I mean. You’d be great.” She said. Sara continued to look doubtful. 

“I think you should,” Caitlin interjected. “It’ll be fun at the very least. Middle school sports aren’t serious. Not like high school at least. We’d get to hang out more. And hey, you never know if you’ll find a new passion. Colleges also like extracurriculars too.” She pointed out. Sara promised to give it some thought to Amaya’s pleasure. 

During lunch, she and Oliver were sitting under a covered area outside, the weather being a little chilly but nice all the same. “I just don’t want to fail miserably.” Sara confided in her boyfriend, resting her head on his shoulder, his hand in her lap as she played with his fingers. Oliver smiled. 

“You won’t.” He said. “You’ll be great. I’m sure. Amaya and Caitlin will be there, and I’ll cheer for you every game. With our support, you’ll easily be star player.” He teased. Sara chuckled, shouldering him playfully. 

“You really think I should?” She questioned again. Oliver nodded. 

“It’ll be good for you. You deserve to make a name for yourself on your own, without any of us meddling.” He says. Sara acknowledged he was somewhat right. She was popular, half of the school’s power couple, because of others. Oliver. Amaya. Caitlin. That’s not to say Sara couldn’t make it on her own, but she had gotten a social circle boost on entering Highland. She did want to make a name for herself. So she nodded. 

“I’ll do it.”

IV.

“I’m so excited!” Amaya said standing next to Sara at the window to their sports office, turning in their paperwork. Sara smiled. Her parents were surprised that Sara expressed an interest in joining the basketball team, but supported her all the same. They were glad Sara had found something to participate in. The receptionist took a cursory glance at their paperwork, nodding. 

“Season starts next week. 7th graders practice in the morning at 7. She said kindly. The two girls nodded. 

“This is going to be so much fun!” Amaya said. Sara nodded in agreement. She was glad that Caitlin and Amaya were going to be there. She heard the names of a few others signing up that year, Sam Arias and Maggie Sawyer were two that stood out to her. She shared a class each with both of them, Sam in her math class and Maggie in her science class, but she didn’t really know either very well. 

“You, me and Caitlin are going to rock! Three Amigos, am I right?” Amaya said, nudging Sara. The girl laughed, nodding in agreement. It was hard not to be excited when Amaya was pumping her up so much. “So my dad will pick you up Monday morning at 6:30,” Amaya said. Her family had offered to ferry Sara to school as Amaya’s dad was usually up and heading for work at that time anyway. Quintin had been very appreciative to Amaya’s father, but he had brushed it off. Amaya was very fond of Sara and her family was happy to do it. 

“Ok,” Sara said, hugging Amaya before the two parted for the weekend.

“Who else do you think is going to show?” Amaya asked after Sara had gotten in the car. Sara shrugged. 

“You, me and Caitlin. Sam Arias and Maggie Sawyer signed up too. I don’t know who else.” She replied. “Guess you’ll just have to wait.” She teased. Amaya pouted but acknowledged Sara’s point. It wasn’t too long before the two got to the school and headed to the gym together. Not too many people were there yet, including Coach Wells, their head coach for the year. But Caitlin hanging in the gym, waving to her friends as the two walked in. 

“Hey, guys!” She said brightly. Sara and Amaya set their stuff next to Caitlin’s bag, sitting on the gym floor next to her. 

“Ready for this?” Amaya asked. Caitlin nodded. The gymnasium door opened again, Sam and Maggie walking in together. The two nodded in acknowledgment to Sara, Caitlin, and Amaya before being sucked back into their conversation. More people trickled in over the next few minutes, Coach Wells himself showing up about five minutes before practice officially started. He went into the sports closet, wheeling out a large cage of basketballs, unlocking it. 

“Feel free to warm up.” He shouted before heading into the boy’s locker room. 

“C’mon,” Amaya said, getting up and pulling her two friends to their feet. The three went to grab a basketball each and went to the far end of the court and began dribbling and shooting random shots. Sara had some base knowledge of the game from doing a little research before prior to submitted her sports packet. She knew that you couldn’t just grab the ball and run, you had to dribble it down the court. She knew what a layup was in theory. Little things like that. 

The gym door opened again and the three friends looked in the direction of the opening door and all three were very surprised to see Ava Sharpe walk through the door, hair up in a ponytail, dressed in a pair of basketball shorts and white tank top along with some white and red basketball shoes. She seemed to notice almost everyone in the gym staring at her. She shyly walked over to where all the other bags were piled, dumping hers on the ground before grabbing a ball and heading over to a free hoop and starting to throw shots. The three observed her as she sunk three pointer after three pointer. 

“Never would have pegged her to be here,” Amaya said offhandedly. Sara, for her part, just watched Ava shoot and sink multiple three-point shots. 

“She seems good though,” Sara observed. Caitlin nodded in agreement. 

“I guess we’ll see.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we're going to finally get into stuff that I'm not going to just skim over. The story will largely focus on the basketball aspect of the story with some added classroom and other school-related scenes sprinkled in. 
> 
> And we finally meet Ava! I'd have imagined that if Ava had actually been a kid, she would have been one of those kids that were kind of an outcast in school but matured into what we have now, confident and badass. Though I also picture her not that bothered by it, just accepting it for what it is. She's the kid of person that goes back to her 10-year reunion and everyone is like "What the fuck happened to you???" in a good way. Also, her friendship with Gary was a must include, for obvious reasons. 
> 
> Though Ava's skill in basketball is rather impressive, especially for her age, which will work in her favor going forward. Though, middle school sports are almost never as consequential as high school, fewer people usually attend games (typically it's just friends and family of players, or at least that was my experience) and athletes are often times popular, but again, nothing like the "jock" stereotype of high school. So for the foreseeable future, she's still going to be considered a nerd, though I'm sure she'll strike more friendships with her teammates, though with who will depend on the breakdown of who is junior varsity and varsity ;) 
> 
> Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!


	5. Practice

I.

The first couple of weeks of practice went fairly smoothly all things considered. Sara even thought she was getting the hang of the game, or as good of a hang that a middle schooler could have. Coach Wells took those weeks to start getting everyone in shape. Every morning they were expected to run laps around the gym until he said otherwise. Sara, Caitlin, and Amaya would usually run in step together at a medium pace. The other cliques in the group were also quickly being established. 

Maggie Sawyer and Sam Arias had taken to each other rather well, the two seeming as inseparable off the court as they were on the court. There were a number of other girls on the team, but Sara wasn’t all that friendly with them yet. She usually kept to her own little group. Though, she did notice one, Ava Sharpe. 

The girl usually kept to herself during practice, making small talk with a few other girls at most. But other than that, she didn’t socialize too much during practice and even less outside. Nothing really changed for Ava besides getting a little bit more of a reputation as it spread throughout the school that quiet, shy and nerdy Ava Sharpe whose only friend at the school was Gary Green, was on the basketball team. She still kept to herself and really only talked to Gary, beyond answering questions in class, which wasn’t all that often. 

Ava’s limited friends group wasn’t a lack of people approaching her. A number of girls on the team had tried to strike up something akin to a friendship, but Ava never particularly seemed interested outside the one-off conversations. And within the middle school social structure, most of the time, her peers were content to say they tried. 

Though, Sara did notice that she was in extremely good shape. She easily outpaced everyone else during laps, out lapping a number of people by at least two laps by the time Coach Wells told them to stop. And when he was showing all the girls the various drills that would become a staple in their training regime, Ava was more often than not one of the few that knew them all and therefore would help Wells demonstrate to the rest of the team. 

Sara was mildly impressed with her skill for someone who didn’t know that much about basketball. And from looking around at some of the other girls, they were equally as impressed as her. It was undeniable that she had serious skills at only 12 like the rest of them. So when the junior varsity and varsity team rosters were announced only two weeks into the season, it was to no one's surprise that Ava was put on the varsity team. Maggie and Sam were also on the varsity team with Ava and six other girls. 

Sara, along with Caitlin and Amaya were all on junior varsity with five other girls. Sara, for her part, was fine with that placement. She might have taken to the game rather well, but she was nowhere on the same level as Sam, Maggie or Ava and didn’t really want to humiliate herself in their first game. No, she was just fine with being on junior varsity. 

Coach Wells, who was the varsity coach, sent them off with their junior varsity coach, Coach Carr. He was a grumpy man, but his entire team had to begrudgingly admit he knew what he was doing. He took charge of the junior varsity team from the get-go and proceeded in having them go through layup and passing drills until they felt like their feet would fall off. 

Sara, being shorter than a lot of her fellow team members had a little more difficulty with layups, but she seemed to excel at free throws as well as ball handling which seemed to more than make up her lack of ability at the bottom of the hoop for Coach Carr. “Okay ladies, partner up. One on defense, one on offense. The goal is to steal the ball.” He directed. Sara and Amaya immediately paired up, leaving Caitlin to pair up with another girl on their team named Jesse. 

Sara decided to go on defense first which is where her skills really came out. Despite being short, she was good at keeping pressure on her opponent. Amaya guarded the ball with half her body, keeping the ball on her outside so Sara would have to reach in and under to grab it, likely forcing a foul if she tried. But Sara kept light on her feet, analyzing Amaya’s stance and trying to predict her moves. 

“Getting tired yet, Sara?” Amaya teased. Sara’s eyes narrowed playfully before making her move. She lunged but Amaya only predicted it and swapped her defensive position so that Sara’s lunge miss. Though Sara had predicted it and switched her momentum to shift directions, though not without some effort and a little stumbling. It seemed to do the trick, however, and she was able to swat the ball out of Amaya’s hand.

Amaya pouted, swatting Sara’s shoulder as the blonde looked at her proudly before going to recover their ball. Coach Carr walked over to Sara, giving her a brief nod of approval. “Good job Lance.” He grunted before wandering over to Caitlin and Jesse to inspect their form. Amaya jogged back over to her friend, handing her the ball. 

“Your turn.” She said, giving Sara a chance to get in the proper position, the blonde dribbling the ball in the similar stance that Amaya had adopted. Her hand up in a guard position as Amaya tried to find an opening in Sara’s defense of the ball. 

“Ready for our first game yet?” Amaya teased. Sara rolled her eyes. 

“It’s still a few weeks away.” She replied, her eyes narrowing in on Amaya trying to distract her. 

“Yeah, but Coach Carr is going to announce starters next week.” She reminded her friend. Sara just groaned. 

“I don’t expect to be starting.” She said with a slight shrug. Amaya made a lunge but Sara was able to take a backstep to avoid the swat. 

“You never know. You’re pretty good.” Amaya said. Sara scoffed. 

“Nowhere near as good as you and Caitlin.” She lamented. 

“You’re not giving yourself enough credit.” Amaya tried. “Caitlin and I have been playing outside of school for a year or two. You didn’t even know how to play the game. You might be able to make varsity next year if you try.” She said confidently. Sara frowned. 

“I don’t even know if I want to play next year. So let’s just stick to this year.” She replied. 

“Fair enough,” Amaya said as she made another attempt to steal the ball away from her friend.  

II.

“C’mon Sara, you need to get in shape if you’re going to be a pro!” Oliver implored. Sara just rolled her eyes. Her boyfriend was trying to get her to run regularly with him. Sara knew he had a point but really didn’t want to. Oliver was training for track season, as a distance runner he wasn’t the fastest in the world, but he did have excellent stamina. “It’ll be good for you. Besides, more time to spend with yours truly.” He teased. Sara shouldered him playfully, before taking another bite of her sandwich. 

“Fine.” She relented. She did have to admit she was feeling a bit winded after practice and it would be nice to get through practice without her legs and arms feeling like jelly afterward. Oliver cheered. 

“We’ll have a good time, I promise.” He said. Sara rolled her eyes again but nodded. Leave it to Oliver to make even a workout fun. 

True to her word, she joined Oliver on the ride over to his house after calling her parents and saying she’d be working out at Oliver’s place and getting her mom’s permission after promising that she’d be home in time for dinner. She commandeered his bathroom to change her clothes into something more suitable for running, meeting him in the entryway. “You look nice.” He said cheekily, leaning in a kissing her. Sara returned it, though she was mindful that anyone could walk in on them and shoved him away after what would have been considered an indecent amount of time. 

“You’re just saying that so I’ll do this with you more often.” She teased. Oliver looked scandalized. 

“Me? Never!” He exclaimed dramatically like her words wounded him. She just laughed, grabbing his hand and pulling him out the front door behind her. He set the pace and she followed him as they jogged off the Queen property and onto a nearby trail that ran into the park near Oliver’s house. Sara was able to keep up with Oliver’s pace, but about a mile into the jog, she felt herself struggling. 

Oliver slowed his pace to allow Sara to continue jogging, but keep pace with him. “You okay?” He asked. “Do you need to take a break?” He questioned further. She nodded and the two slowed to a stop. She took a few deep breaths.

“I’m more out of shape than I thought.” She said a little guiltily. Oliver just shook his head. 

“It’s not a big deal. You’re working on it. When I first started running for the track team, I was the slowest guy on the team.” He said with a shrug. “Do this regularly and you’ll be the all-star in no time!” He said. She smiled, appreciating his encouragement. She wiped the sweat from her forehead before picking up with the pace again. 

“C’mon slowpoke!” She teased as she ran off. He grinned, running after her. She managed to outpace him for a couple of minutes, but he eventually caught up to her, putting his arms around her waist. She squealed as he lifted her up, she clung onto him as he spun her around a couple of times before setting her down, kissing her nose. 

“Caught you.” He teased. Sara playfully slapped his shoulder.

“I was taking it easy on you Ollie.” She retorted. He snorted.

“If that makes you sleep better at night.” He said. She just stuck her tongue out at him. “Mature.” He teased. 

“I’m not even 13 yet Ollie.” She huffed. 

“Oh yeah. I’m dating a tween.” He continued to tease his girlfriend. She just rolled her eyes. 

“You’re barely 13 yourself.” She argued. He just shrugged. 

“Older than you.” 

“High school next year.” She reminded him. He just groaned. 

“Don’t remind me.” 

“Is it really that bad?” She asked. He just shrugged. 

“I don’t know. But it sounds like it at least.” He replied. 

“Fair enough.” She said with a shrug. “Let’s get going, I promised my mom I’d be home before dinner.” He nodded.

“Okay, I’ll ask my dad if he can drive you home.” He said. Sara nodded gratefully as they jogged off back towards the Queen household. 

III.

“How’s practice been going?” Quintin asked his daughter. She just shrugged. 

“Okay, I guess.” She said, taking a bite of the food in front of her. “We’re prepping for our first game in a couple weeks.” Dinah nodded. 

“Your father and I will be there. Laurel, you can make some time for your sister’s game right?” She said in a tone that suggested it was not a request. Laurel, in the middle of a bite, just nodded before swallowing. 

“Wouldn’t miss it.” She said. “I’d love to see my little sister shoot the game-winning shot. And miss.” She teased. 

“Hey!” Sara exclaimed. “Rude.” She said, glaring at her sister who was just laughing. 

“I’m kidding squirt.” She defended. “I’ll be there Mom.”  She said. 

“Oliver will be there I assume?” Quintin asked. Sara shifted a little uncomfortably. Though she had her father’s blessing to date Oliver, she knew that her father was still incredibly protective and was just waiting for an opportunity to interrogate Oliver. 

“Yes, dad. Of course, he is.” She said, picking at her food. 

“Good, I need to have a word or two with him.” He said thoughtfully. Sara groaned. 

“Don’t embarrass me, dad!” She exclaimed. Quintin just chuckled. 

“What kind of dad would I be if I didn’t embarrass you in front of all your boyfriends?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ava and Sara will have their first real interaction in the next chapter, so you all have that to look forward to. 
> 
> As for this chapter, just a bit of fluff. For some reason, I really enjoy the idea of Maggie and Sam being close friends (though no more than friends). Also, as far as major named characters go, Ava, Sam, and Maggie are all on varsity and Sara, Amaya, and Caitlin are on junior varsity.


	6. First Contact

I.

Sara grunted as she caught a rather forceful pass from Caitlin. She faked back and passed to Amaya who drove to the hoop, putting a layup into the basket, earning their group another point. Coach Carr had split the team up into two groups of a three and one group of two. The two groups of three were currently scrimmaging half court while the group of two were working on layups with Coach Carr. “Nice Amaya,” Sara said, standing opposite Jesse who was on the other team. Jesse passed the ball to Sara.

“Check.” She said before Sara passed back. 

“Check.” She also said before dropping down into a defensive position. Jesse bounced the ball at her side. She broke left, running past Sara, but the blonde quickly caught up, providing a close defense on her. Jesse picked up the ball, looking for an open teammate. She found one and made a flat overhead pass, the ball finding its mark, leaving Caitlin on defense. Sara moved to defend Jesse, getting in between the girl and the path of the ball. But Jesse’s teammate, Beth made a hard press toward the hoop. Caitlin kept up and as Beth tried to make a layup, Caitlin jumped and blocked the ball, managing to swat the ball away and Amaya lunged forward, grabbing it. 

“Ugh,” Beth exclaimed. “Nice block Caitlin.” She said with a sigh. Caitlin nodded. 

“Thanks.” She replied as Amaya passed the ball to Sara who had become the point guard for their little group. She passed to Jesse and back before quickly passing the ball to Amaya who had broken away from her defender and allowed Sara to make a quick chest past to her right before breaking left, trying to get away from Jesse who was doing a good job of keeping up the pressure. Amaya dribbled the ball for a few seconds before finding an opening with Caitlin, bounce passing to her, Caitlin stepping in front of Beth and grabbing the ball. Unfortunately, Beth had recovered quickly and blocked Caitlin’s chance for an easy layup and instead forcing her to pass the ball back to Sara who was standing near the free throw line. Sara dribbed a couple times before taking a breath and took a shot from the free throw line, the ball sinking into the hoop as the three girls cheered. Jesse and her teammates groaned, that last basket winning the scrimmage for Sara, Caitlin, and Amaya. Both teams shook hands with each other as was Coach Carr’s policy even when they were playing against each other. 

“Good game,” Beth said to Sara who smiled. 

“Yeah, you too.” She replied. Coach Carr came over to the six girls, the other two following him. 

“Okay, the rest of practice will be combined with the varsity team.” He grunted as the junior varsity girls saw the nine varsity girls file into the gym from the smaller gym down the hall. Coach Wells walked up and stood beside Coach Carr, nodding for the varsity girls to form a group with the other girls. 

“We’re going to be practicing defensive drills with everyone for the next hour.” He said. “We’re going to pair each of you with someone from the other team. There will be one team of three since we have one more girl on varsity than JV.” He said. Each of the girls looked around, mumbling among themselves and Coach Wells looked at his clipboard and started reading out names. 

“Amaya Jiwe and Samantha Arias.” He started. The two girls gravitated towards each other, greeting each other with friendly smiles. “Caitlin Snow and Maggie Sawyer.” He continued. “Ava Sharpe and Sara Lance.” Sara blinked, looking around, seeing Ava standing near the back of the group. Sara gave the girl a small, shy wave before wandering over to her as Coach Wells continued to read out names. 

“Hi,” Sara said with a smile. Ava returned the small smile with a nod. “Ava right?” She questioned. Ava nodded without saying anything. Coach Wells finally finished pairing off girls. 

“Okay, every pair grab a ball and get started.” He said, walking off the court with Coach Carr as each of the pairs made their way to the basketball cage. 

“I’ll get the ball, shall I?” Ava asked, speaking directly to Sara for the first time. Sara nodded. 

“I’ll go find an open spot.” She replied and Ava nodded, jogging over to get a ball. Sara went and found an open corner of the gym as Ava walked over with the ball. 

“Heads up.” She said from a few feet back, tossing the ball to Sara. She was a little caught off guard and fumbled in catching it, but managed to get it under control before it bounced away. Ava laughed. “Sorry.” She apologized. Sara brushed her off. 

“It’s okay, I wasn’t really paying attention.” She said with a shrug. 

“I have English with you, don’t I?” Ava questioned curiously. Sara just nodded. 

“Yeah, Wilson, first period?” She confirmed, though she already knew the answer. 

“Mhhm.” Ava murmured in reply. Sara started dribbling the ball, Ava getting into a position to steal it away as she caught on. Sara watched Ava’s eyes dart around Sara’s general area, looking for an opening. 

“How are you liking Highland?” She questioned. Ava shrugged, her eyes focused on Sara. 

“It’s okay. I guess as well as you can when you start a new school.” She replied before making her move. Instead of lunging forward like most of the JV girls did, Ava darted to the right. Sara tried to guard the ball, but Ava was too quick for her, only after getting to the side, surging forward and grabbing the ball, looking a little smug as Sara frowned. 

“You focus too much on guarding your front and leaving your side vulnerable,” Ava said, bouncing the ball casually. “Anyone with a bit for focus can sidestep you and grab it without risking a hand check.” She said, passing the ball back to Sara to try again. 

Sara adjusted her position to Ava’s advice, keeping more mind of her side, while still trying to defend the front. Ava just looked before stepping closer to Sara without the intention of grabbing the ball from her. Instead, she grabbing Sara’s shoulders, adjusting them slightly towards the ball, sticking her own foot between Sara’s, widening her stance a little. “There we go.” She said quietly, before stepping back to a normal distance and dropping into a defensive position where she tried again to grab the ball from Sara. But the shorter blonde was able to keep her at bay for a few minutes and more than a few attempts. 

Ava smiled. “Good.” She said. “Already an improvement on your technique.” She said as Sara stopped dribbling the ball and rested it on her hip under her arm. 

“You’re really good. How long have you been playing?” She questioned before tossing the ball to Ava. The girl caught the ball easily. 

“A few years. I started playing club ball in elementary school when I lived in Fresno.” She replied, casually dribbling the ball. 

“It’s kept you in pretty good shape,” Sara noted. It wasn’t Ava’s body that gave her that impression, though the slim and somewhat muscular figure did help. Rather it was the way Ava never seemed winded after practice. Even after a full workout practice. 

“I guess. My dad being a federal agent kind of makes for physical fitness to be important in our house.” She said with a shrug. Sara nodded. Her cop dad wasn’t nearly as strict about his kids being physically fit, but he did insist they not be couch potatoes on weekends. 

“Wilson seems to like you.” She added. Ava smiled slightly. 

“Yeah, he’s nice. Tough, but fair I think.” She said. Sara groaned. 

“You’re only saying that because you’re his favorite and always get As from him.” She complained. Ava laughed. 

“Hey, if you’d study and get your homework done on time, you wouldn't have problems.” She said with a shrug. 

“You’re just smug you’re smarter than all of us.” She accused. Ava scoffed. 

“Hardly! I may have some more smarts than most of the class, but I’m not smug about it.” She defended. 

“All of this and you choose to hang out with Gary?” Sara questioned without thinking. Ava’s eyes narrowed slightly, the light teasing atmosphere immediately clouded by Ava’s defensiveness. 

“Gary is nice if a little odd. But he’s sweet. Besides, I’ve had enough run-ins with the _popular_ crowd in my life that I don’t need any extra incentive to avoid them.” She said, grumbling as she moved into a defensive position. “Try to steal the ball.” She said, locking Sara out of asking further questions. Sara knew a dismissal when she saw it. But she did get the awful feeling in her stomach that the types of groups Ava was talking about were hers.

II.

“Ugh, Maggie is so quick,” Caitlin complained at lunch. “Stole the ball from me every time. Never even managed to get it off her once.” Amaya threw a pea from her lunch tray at her. 

“It’s not her fault that you’re slow.” She teased. Caitlin glared. 

“I only slow it down for your benefit during practice.” She defended. Amaya just rolled her eyes. 

“Sure you do.” She said skeptically. The two continued to bicker as Oliver turned to Sara. 

“So, how did you do today?” He asked curiously. She shrugged. 

“Got paired up with Ava Sharpe.” She said without elaborating. 

“Isn’t she that new girl that hangs out with Gary?” He questioned further, oblivious to Sara’s reluctance to talk about the matter further. She nodded. 

“Yeah. She’s good. Helped me with technique a bit.” She said dismissively. Oliver nodded approvingly. 

“She friendly?” He questioned further. Sara hesitated but nodded. 

“Yeah, she’s nice enough. Quiet and a little shy I think though.” She replied honestly. 

“You should try to get to know her. Maybe practice with her. She’s on varsity right? Maybe she can help you. And she’d get another friend.” He suggested but Sara shook her head. 

“I don’t think she wants to be friends.” She said quietly. Oliver tipped his head to the side.

“Why?” He asked. Sara just shrugged. 

“Dunno.” She lied. She had an idea as to why even if it was a little unfair. Ava clearly had… history with girls like Sara at her old school and they weren’t all happy memories. The defensiveness of Gary and clear dislike for the popular crowd was enough to give Sara that impression. But she did have half a mind to prove Ava wrong, that they weren’t all bad. But she also didn’t want to rock the boat too much. If Ava didn’t want to socialize with the popular kids, by extension Sara herself, she wouldn’t force the issue. She just wasn’t that kind of person. 

Oliver looked at Sara, who was clearly uncomfortable under his gaze, but he did not question her further. Instead, he rest his arm on the back of her chair. “Weekend plans?” He asked. She shook her head, grateful for the change in subject. 

“Want to come over Saturday? My dad is having some stuffy business party and I don’t want to be stuck with babysitting Thea.” He asked. Sara frowned. 

“What does my presence have to do with you getting out of babysitting duty?” She asked. He shrugged. 

“Ask my dad. He just said if I bring you, he’ll get someone else to watch Thea. I think he just wants to show off his son and his son’s girlfriend to his business partners. Show them he’s got his kid on the right track or something. He likes you, you know?” Oliver said. Sara raised an eyebrow but shrugged. 

“Sure, I don’t have anything else to do this weekend. Besides homework, but everyone does that Sunday night.” She half-joked. Oliver chuckled. 

“Great, thank you!” He said gratefully. “I’ll let my dad know you’re coming. Dress code is semi-formal. My dad is forcing me into a suit so I wouldn’t want you to come unprepared.” He said. 

“So like, a dress?” Sara asked for clarification. She only owned a handful of dresses but was sure she could probably find something in her closet that was appropriate. 

“Yeah, sorry.” He said apologetically, knowing Sara wasn’t the type of girl to relish in wearing dresses but she brushed him off. 

“It’s okay. It’s only for the evening.” She said, not too fussed about the entire thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Their first actual interaction! And it was going so well. Oh well, they'll work it out eventually. Ava, in canon, also pegged me as the type of person who maybe got bullied by the popular kids in school because they were jealous (if she had actually gone to school, of course). And the only reason she wasn't popular herself was because she didn't have time for the petty games of the public school system and the cliques they produce. 
> 
> Also, Sara is naturally good at the game, but in a way that anyone with a little skill and some training can outperform her. Raw skill without training can't match someone with real training and a little skill. But with training, she has the potential to be really good. She's just not there yet. And who knows, maybe Ava can help her get there ;)


	7. Date

I.

Sara pulled a bit at the sleeve of her dress while Oliver adjusted his tie. “Why did I let you rope me into this?” Sara hissed quietly into his ear.

“Because you enjoy my company and took mercy on me.” He replied cheekily. Sara rolled her eyes but just grabbed his hand as an older man approached them. “That’s one of my father’s friends,” Oliver whispered before they reached them.

“Walter!” Oliver said, shaking the older man’s hand.

“Oliver. How are you?” He asked. Oliver shrugged.

“Doing okay.” He said. “How about you?” He asked.

“Between you and me, I only come to these things because your father asks.” He said in a low tone. Oliver chuckled. “And who is this?” Walter asked, turning his attention to Sara. Oliver looked at his girlfriend.

“This is Sara Lance, my girlfriend.” He informed his family friend. Walter gave Sara an approving look.

“You look stunning tonight Ms. Lance.” He remarked. Sara gave him a small smile.

“Thank you, sir.” She replied. Walter waved her off.

“If Oliver is sweet on you, you’re practically family already. He doesn’t warm up to many people. Please, call me Walter.” He said, clapping a hand on Oliver’s shoulder. The young boy looked sheepishly at his girlfriend. Sara smiled.

“Okay, Walter.” She said, testing his name on her tongue. He nodded approvingly. Before anyone had anything else to say, Robert and Moira Queen wandered over to their son, his girlfriend and Robert’s best friend.

“Walter! I see you’ve met Sara.” Robert said, hugging his best friend. Walter nodded.

“They seem like a great couple.” He replied. Sara blushed slightly, hiding her face in Oliver’s shoulder.

“Dad. Walter. You’re embarrassing her.” Oliver complained. The two older men laughed.

“Don’t be embarrassed, Sara. It’s a compliment.” Moira jumped in. Sara looked up at the adults.

“I think we’ve embarrassed the young couple enough, Robert, let’s leave them be. At least, for a little while.” Walter suggested. Robert nodded in agreement, leaving the two to themselves.

“Well, that could have easily gone worse,” Oliver said. Sara rolled her eyes.

“Easy for you to say.” She retorted. Oliver squeezed her hand.

“They’re right though, you do look stunning,” Oliver said with a grin. Sara blushed, fidgeting with her dress. She had rifled through her closet and found a red dress that was suitable for the event. It had long sleeves and ended slightly above the knee. The neckline wasn’t deep, otherwise, her father never would have let her out of the house. It was a respectable length for a high society business function, especially for someone of her age. Oliver cleaned up just as well. He had a classic black suit with a white button-up shirt, coupled with a skinny black tie.

“Thanks. You don’t look too bad yourself.” Sara replied before she spied an older teenager making his way over to them.

“Who is that?” Sara questioned quietly, nodding in the boy’s direction. Oliver looked, letting out a small groan.

“That’s Lex Luthor.” He said darkly. “Queen Consolidated does some business with Luthor Corp. Hence Lionel, his wife and both his kids were invited.”

“I take it you don’t care for him,” Sara whispered but before Oliver could respond, Lex approached him.

“Queen.” He said.

“Luthor,” Oliver replied, the tension between the two palpable.

“Who is this?” Lex asked, eyeing Sara, making her feel like she wanted the shink into the background at his leering gaze. Oliver subtly stepped slightly in front of Sara in a protective manner.

“My _girlfriend_ , who is none of your business Luthor,” Oliver said, a slight steel to his voice that Sara wasn’t aware he was capable of. Lex raised both his hand in surrender but didn’t take his eyes off of Sara.

“Just trying to be friendly, Queen. Down boy.” He said condescendingly. Oliver narrowed his eyes at Lex.

“What are you doing here Luthor?” He asked, still clearly defensive over Sara who hadn’t said a peep. She was more than willing to let Oliver handle this boy. It wasn’t that she was particularly afraid of him, but she was very much out of her element and didn’t want to risk offending him too much for fear of the business ties between Queen Consolidated and Luthor Corp.

“My father wanted me to come over and play nice.” Lex drawled. “I think I’ve done my business.” He turned his attention to Sara. “If you ever get tired of Queen here, I’m sure he can give you my number,” Lex said in what Sara figured was supposed to be an enticing tone of voice. As soon as his back was turned, she shivered.

“He’s creepy,” Sara said, her hand tightly wrapped around Oliver’s forearm. Oliver nodded in agreement.

“He is. But he also isn’t someone you want to piss off too much. He’s the apple of his mother’s eye and at Luthor Corp, she’s the one that really sets the agenda, even though Lionel is the CEO.” Oliver said. It was an unspoken fact that Lex was going to inherit the business one day and likely, that Oliver would inherit Queen Consolidated and they were to be peers for most of the professional careers. But that didn’t erase Oliver’s desire to punch the smug look off of Lex’s face.

Sara opened her mouth to reply, but another voice cleared their throat. Sara looked to see a girl, closer to their age standing were Lex had been only moments ago. “I’m sorry about my brother.” The girl said with a little disgust.

“Lex and I were just… talking.” Oliver said carefully. The girl gave Oliver a dry look.

“Talking rather heatedly while you were protecting…” The girl trailed off, looking at Sara.

“Sara Lance.” She supplied, her gut feeling telling her it was okay to speak now.

“Protecting Ms. Lance from him.” The girl said before turning slightly to Sara. “I’m Lena Luthor. The unfortunate teen you just met is my older brother.” Lena said, rolling her eyes.

“I take it you’re not a fan?” Sara questioned as Oliver relaxed a little next to her. Lena shrugged.

“He’s my brother and I love him. But his bedside manner and condescension to everyone that doesn’t have the last name of Luthor could use some work.” She said diplomatically. Sara nodded. “So I apologize for him,” Lena said honestly. Oliver waved her off.

“It’s not your fault your brother is a jerk. And kind of a creep.” He said. Lena raised an eyebrow.

“I wouldn’t let him hear you say that Mr. Queen. He has been known to be… vindictive.” She said carefully. Oliver nodded.

“But I’m sure you know the value of discretion.” He replied. Lena chuckled.

“That I do,” Lena said with a nod. “I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening. Mr. Queen. Ms. Lance.” Lena said acknowledging both individuals before slinking away to rejoin her family.

“She seemed… nice?” Sara said though it came out more like a question.

“She’s easily more tolerable than her brother. She’s adopted into the family, so maybe the sleazy Luthor genes didn’t rub off on her.” Oliver said with a shrug. Sara laughed a little, kissing him on the cheek.

“It’s cute that you’re so protective.” She said. Oliver chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand that wasn’t holding Sara’s hand.

“I just…” He said but stopped. “This world has a tendency to chew people up and spit them back out. I don’t want that for you.” He confessed. Sara’s gaze softened a little, squeezing his hand.

“And I appreciate it.”

II.

The night went rather smoothly after that. A few more kids of prominent families and the occasional adult approached Sara and Oliver, but the two mostly kept to themselves. Oliver was never much for these kinds of events, but he’d rather be at the event than babysitting Thea. Plus it afforded him the opportunity to spend time with Sara, and perhaps, show her off to his peers.  

And before the couple knew it, the night was winding down. People started filing out of the Queen estate. “I can drive you home Sara,” Robert said. “I wouldn’t want your father to worry.”

Sara thanked Oliver’s father, giving her boyfriend a quick kiss on the lips. “Goodnight Ollie. I had fun.” She said. He smiled.

“I’m glad. It was nice to have you here and spend time with you.” He said with a smile.

The drive home was an easy silence. Robert liked Sara but often didn’t know what to say to the girl without his son there. Before long, they stopped in front of Sara’s house. “Thanks, Mr. Queen!” Sara said brightly.

“You’re welcome, Sara.” He said, hesitating. “I’m glad you were able to come. Oliver’s been happier since you came into his life so it’s the least I can do.” He said honestly. Sara nodded slightly.

“I’m glad. He makes me happy too.” Sara said with an equal amount of honesty. Robert smiled at the young girl as she got out of the car and walked up to her house. Before opening the door, she turned at waved to Robert.

She stepped inside, the house mostly dark save for a couple of lights that had been left on her for her. She sighed, wandering over to the kitchen to get a glass of water before going to bed. She set her phone on the counter, opening a cupboard and grabbing a glass. “How was your evening?” A voice said, startling Sara. She jumped only to see her father sitting at the kitchen table, reading a newspaper.

“Dad. You scared me. I didn’t know you’d still be up.” She said, filling her glass.

“Just wanted to make sure you got home alright,” Quintin said. He trusted Robert and Moira Queen with his daughter, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t worry.

“I’m fine dad.” She said, taking a gulp of water from her glass. “It was nice. Met some of Oliver’s upper-class friends.” She said, brushing over her awkward and slightly intimidating meeting with Lex Luthor. “Most people there seemed to approve of me.” She said with a shrug, finishing off her glass.

“They’d better,” Quintin said. “No one is going to insult my little girl and get away with it.” He joked. Sara rolled her eyes.

“I’m not that little anymore dad.” She complained. Quintin got up, leaving his paper on the table.

“You’re always going to be little to me, so get used to it.” He said. “I’m heading to bed. Goodnight.” He said. Sara nodded.

“Night dad.” She said as she put her glass in the sink, following his lead. She headed to her bedroom, grabbing a pair of shorts and large t-shirt before heading into the bathroom she shared with Laurel. She shed her dress, pulling on her clothes before brushing her teeth and washing her face. She picked up her dress, heading back to her room.

She quickly hung the dress up before flopping onto her bed. She reached for her phone, sending off a quick goodnight text to Oliver before falling into a deep sleep.

III.

She didn’t stir until mid-afternoon the next day. She had gotten home in the early morning hours so she took advantage of the fact it was Sunday to catch up on sleep. It was around one in the afternoon before she headed downstairs, yawning all the way. The TV was on, Laurel lounging on the couch watching some superhero TV show. “Hey, squirt. Finally decided to join the land of the living.” Laurel teased. Sara glared at her sister before opening the fridge and grabbing some leftover pizza they had from a couple nights back, devouring it quickly. “How was your fancy event?” Laurel questioned. She had tried her best to support her sister’s decision of dating Oliver. She still didn’t really like the idea of the boy dating her little sister, but she was respectful of Sara’s choice.

“It was nice. Met some new people, friends and work acquaintances of the Queens.” She said with a shrug.

“That sounds nice, I guess. You two still good?” She questioned. Sara narrowed her eyes. She knew that Laurel didn’t approve of her relationship much.

“We’re fine Laurel. And I wish you’d stop butting in.” She said a little defensively.

“Hey, I’m not meddling in your relationship. You know I respect your decision and there’s nothing wrong with Oliver. I just don’t think you two are the right match!” Laurel defended herself. Sara sighed.

“Isn’t that for me to decide?” Sara asked, sitting on the couch next to Laurel.

“It is, which is why I haven’t scared him off of you. Yet.” Laurel teased. Sara playfully shoved her sister.

“Like you could.” She said. Laurel raised an eyebrow, taking that as a challenge.

“You never know. I could…” She trailed off, before pouncing on her sister, tickling her relentlessly. Sara squealed, trying to push Laurel off of her, but being on the bottom wasn’t an advantage when Laurel was both taller and stronger than her.

“Let me go!” Sara tried.

“Tell me I can be scary and I’ll stop.” Laurel insisted, continuing to tickle Sara.

“Never!” Sara exclaimed, continuing to try to push Laurel off of her to no avail. The siege went on for another couple of minutes before Sara caved. “Fine! You can be scary.” She declared and Laurel finally backed off, brushing herself off.

“See, that wasn’t so hard.”

“Scary for a kitten maybe.” Sara retorted. Laurel just rolled her eyes, shouldering her sister playfully.

“Want to watch a movie?” Laurel asked. Sara nodded, sprawling out on the couch as Laurel went to Netflix to find something good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! I've been distracted, busy and unmotivated for the last few weeks. But I finally got this finished. 
> 
> Figured it would be a half decent time to introduce the Luthors. Lena will be a side character in the story, so she had to come in at some point. 
> 
> We'll be back to Avalance and basketball next chapter, but for now, this is where we are.


	8. First Game

I.

“C’mon all, let's get on the bus!” Coach Wells yelled to the girls who were shooting around in the gym after school on the day of their first game. They all threw their balls in the cage, making their way to the bus to take them to Central City Middle School who they would be playing for their first game. Amaya got on first, Sara following suit and sitting next to her friend, setting her backpack on the floor between her legs. Caitlin got on next, sitting in a seat across the aisle from them. Both the JV and Varsity team girls got on the bus one by one, finding an open seat. 

As the bus lurched forward, Sara closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Nervous?” She heard Amaya asked her. Sara nodded without opening her eyes. 

“You’ll be fine Sara.” Catlin tried to assure her. Sara opened her eyes, looking over at Caitlin. 

“Yeah but I don’t know if I’m ready to start a game,” Sara said nervously. Coach Carr had announced their starting five a couple of weeks prior to their first game. Sara would be their starting point guard, Beth and a girl named Brie would be starting posts with Amaya and Caitlin supporting as wing guards. 

“Even if you mess up, it’ll be okay. It’s your first organized game the first year you’ve ever played. No one expects you to be perfect, even Coach Carr.” Amaya reassured her friend. Sara bit her lip, nodding slowly. 

“I guess. It’s just a lot of pressure you know? Laurel and my parents are going to be there. And Oliver.” Sara said. 

“And they want you to do well, but they’re not going to scold you or anything if you make a few mistakes. They’re there to cheer you on.” Caitlin replied. 

“Yeah. You’re right.” Sara relented. The rest of the bus ride was spent with some mindless chatter about their classes and whatnot. Before long, the bus stopped and the doors whooshed open and each girl grabbed their stuff, getting off the bus. 

“Alright, ladies. JV and Varsity play at the same time in separate gyms. We’ll all warm up together for a little bit before separating for the games. I want you all to know that Coach Carr and I are very proud of your progress this season and we’re both sure you’ll do great.” Coach Wells said before leading all the girls into the Central City Middle School main gymnasium. 

The main gym at Central City Middle School was a bit larger and nicer than the one at Highland, so as each girl filed into the gym, they all looked around, a little in awe. The Central City team was already milling around the gym, stretching and some shooting hoops. Each girl set their stuff down on their side of the gym, a few shedding sweaters they were wearing. 

With Central City’s teams were already warming up on one side of the gym, they left the other for Highland. Ava wandered over to Sara, nudging her. “C’mon, shoot hoops with me.” She said quietly before going to grab a couple of balls. Sara watched her go, somewhat curious as to why Ava had asked her practice but wasn’t going to look the offer horse in the mouth. She still had half a mind to try to befriend Ava, even if the other girl seemed to not want her friendship off the court. 

She set her sweatshirt on her bag, pulling her jersey over her head with a large number 9 on it. As she stood up, a ball was tossed her way. She managed to grab it as Ava motioned her over to hover around the free throw line to shoot. “Ready for your first game?” Ava asked. Sara shrugged. 

“Afraid of messing up, but I guess there’s always that pressure. I’m also starting point guard so there’s that.” She replied casually. She knew Ava was a starting power forward as Coach Wells easily recognized her talent in the sport and utilized it effectively. 

“You’ll be fine,” Ava said, shooting her ball and sinking it, jogging immediately to retrieve it.

“Easy for you to say,” Sara grumbled. 

“Hey, I’m serious. You’re good. You’ve improved a lot over the last few weeks. You’re ready for this. Besides, you have your team to support you. It’s not like you’re playing alone.” Ava shrugged, waiting for Sara to shoot. She bit her lip under Ava’s gaze, though her teammate looked encouraging. She dribbled the ball a couple of times before aiming and throwing, her ball bouncing off the backboard and into the hoop. “See?” Ava said. “A couple weeks ago, you were missing most of those shots.” Ava teased. Sara rolled her eyes before going to grab her ball. 

“Could have just been a lucky shot,” Sara said, wandering back over to Ava. The girl sighed. 

“Why are you so hard on yourself?” Ava asked curiously, and with a hint of frustration. 

“Why are you?” Sara shot back. Ava looked at Sara with a frown.

“What do you mean by that?” She asked. Sara just shrugged. 

“I mean why do you insist on isolating yourself outside of practice?” The words slipping out of Sara’s mouth before she could stop them. Ava tensed a little. 

“I… don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ava replied a little icily, her demeanor completely changing from the playful attitude she held not a moment ago. 

“You think I don’t notice that you brush literally everyone from the team off when you’re not on the court? You’re friendly here, but it’s like you’re a completely different person in class. Not everyone has an ulterior motive in wanting to befriend you, you know.” Sara hissed, not wanting to draw attention from everyone else to their little spat. Ava’s eyes narrowed. 

“Not everyone wants to be a social butterfly like you, Sara. Nor have the most popular friend group and boyfriend in school.” She said. “I’m friendly here because we’re a team. We all do better when we get along, and if you can’t leave your issues off the court, then you really shouldn’t be here.” Ava finished. Sara was about to shoot back at her, but Coach Carr calling her team to head to the other gym to continue to warm up pulled her away. She huffed, walking away from Ava, missing the look the other girl was giving her retreating form. A look of frustration, but also of regret. Sara picked up her bag, following her team down a nearby hallway. Before she left, she chanced a glance at Ava, but the varsity power forward had already gone back to shooting and was looking anywhere except at Sara. 

II.

“What was all that about?” Amaya whispered to Sara as they set their bags on the bleachers on their side of the gym. Sara looked over at her friend. 

“What do you mean?” She feigned innocence but Amaya wasn’t having any of it.

“I mean with Ava. You two seemed to be having a rather… intense conversation.” She remarked. 

“It was nothing. Just a disagreement on technique is all.” Sara lied. She didn’t like lying to her friends, but now was not the time to be dwelling on her fight with Ava. Amaya looked skeptical but didn’t push the matter, to Sara’s relief. She felt someone tap her shoulder. She turned around to be pulled into that someone’s arms, lifted up and spun around. She squealed a little in surprise.

“Ollie put me down!” She said with a laugh. He complied, setting her down carefully, kissing her briefly. 

“Told you I’d be here and with your number painted on my face.” He said with a silly grin. He indeed had the number 9 painted on both his cheeks. 

“You look ridiculous,” Sara said, shoving him a little. 

“Yeah, but how else was everyone to know I’m here supporting the starting point guard.” He said cheekily. 

“You could have written it on a sign like my parents and sister,” Sara said rolling her eyes. 

“Yeah but I’m your number one fan so that just wouldn’t do.” He said dramatically. Sara was about the reply but was stopped by Coach Carr. 

“Mr. Queen. I hope you’re not distracting our starting point guard.” He said. Oliver shook his head. 

“No, sir.” He said dutifully. Coach Carr looked him over, noting the 9s painted on his face. 

“Good. Now, I’ll be needing my player back, thank you.” He said, dismissing Oliver. The boy nodded, kissing Sara on the cheek before heading back to the bleachers where her parents and sister sat. 

Sara ran over to join the huddle where all her teammates were. “Alright team. We’ve been working for this since the season started. I have faith that you’ll do well.” Coach Carr said to the girls. “Beth, you’ll be jumping. Everyone else, make sure to get the ball to Sara and you should be okay.” He said. Everyone nodded, including Sara who had butterflies in her stomach at the pressure. 

“Raiders on 3. 1… 2… 3…” 

“Raiders!” All the girls yelled, breaking. Their five starters, Sara, Beth, Amaya, Caitlin, and Brie, took to the court, the four girls spreading out on their side, with Beth in the middle, facing Central City’s jumper. 

Sara took her place directly behind Beth, hoping that Beth would be able to tip the ball her way. A girl from Central City jogged over to her. “I’ve got number 9.” She shouted to her teammates. She was around the same height as Sara, and Sara assumed she was likely the other team’s point guard as well since she was the shortest one on Central City’s team. At least of their starting players.

The referee blew his whistle, signifying the start of the game, throwing the ball up in the air between the two girls. Both jumped, but Beth had a slight height advantage and was able to knock it to her side of the court. Sara tried to get in front of her defender, but the girl was quick on her feet and stayed between Sara and the ball. Luckily, Caitlin picked it up and began dribbling it, defending it from her Central City defender while Sara tried to create an opening. Luckily, she found one, faking right before breaking left. Caitlin saw the opening, bouncing it around her own defender and into Sara’s hands. 

Sara could hear Oliver and Laurel cheering for her. She smiled to herself but tried to keep her focus on the court, making sure her body was guarding the ball against her defender who was trying to position herself directly between Sara and the hoop. Sara ran the ball into the three-point area, looking for an opening, but everyone on the court was trying to get away from their defenders. So Sara stood just in the three-point area, dribbling the ball, keeping in mind Ava’s advice about defense of the ball, keeping her shoulders square and free hand between her defender and the ball. 

She spied Brie coming out from under her defender, running directly in front of Sara, her hands in front of her to receive a pass. She took the opportunity, throwing Brie an overhead pass which connected. Sara then backed out of the area to take her defender with her and away from Brie. As expected, her defender stuck with her. Sara kept her eyes on the ball, ready to jump back in if she was needed. But as it was, Brie made a good bounce pass to Beth who went in for a layup and sunk the ball in off the backboard. Sara could hear her teammates and the few fans from Highland, including Oliver and her family, cheering as she watched the scoreboard tick up two points to the away team. She grinned to herself. 

Now she was on defense and she was right that her defender was also the point guard. So she took her place right across the half court line, waiting for the Central City point guard to walk the ball down the court. Sara was crouched in a low defensive position, her eyes directly on the other girl. As expected, the point guard Sara was guarding broke to the right as soon as she crossed the half court line. Sara tried to keep up with her, trying to position herself between her and the basket, but she was a little too slow on the uptake, the girl driving all the way to the hoop since there was an opening from the stellar Central City defense and she threw in an easy layup. There were cheers from the Central City team and their fans as Beth grabbed the ball, passing it in to Sara, who dribbled it down the court, her defender waiting for her like she had not moments ago. 

Sara walked it down at a somewhat leisurely pace to allow her team to get in position. As soon as she stepped over the half court line, her defender was on her like glue. Sara kept an eye on her teammates, seeing out of her peripheral vision, Amaya breaking away from her defender and running towards Sara. The point guard took the opportunity to throw a chest pass to Amaya, who plucked it out of the air, hovering around the free throw line inside the key. She couldn’t see an opening that would open up soon enough, so Amaya took a breath, taking a shot. Unluckily for her, the ball bounced off the rim and back down to the court. Each team scrambled for it, Beth managing to grab hold of it, passing it to Sara to get it out of the scuffle. Sara got the pass, pulling her and her defender out to the top of the three-point line. 

Her team defaulted back to their positions on the court, this time Caitlin breaking away and coming in for a pass. Sara bounced the ball to her, Caitlin grabbed it and dribbling it, driving toward the hoop as she had broken free of the defender briefly. Beth and Brie did a good job of keeping their own defenders away from Caitlin who went in and made another easy layup. 

The entire first half of the game went similar to the first few baskets. Most of their points were comprised of layups. Highland had a handful of steals from Central City and vice versa. Coach Carr halfway through the first half had swapped Amaya out for Jesse as well as Beth out for another girl named Mina. Sara, Brie, and Caitlin, however, stayed in through the entire first half. 

Both teams, being young middle schoolers, made their fair share of mistakes on the court. Sara, for example, accidentally passed the ball right into the hands of a Central City power forward early into the first half. She ended up bouncing the ball off her toe later on, allowing Central City to pick it up and make an easy two point shot. But of course, she wasn’t the only one. She intercepted as many balls as she accidentally let go, more than making up for the points she gave away. And by the end of the first half, Highland was up 24 points to 20. 

At halftime, Sara ran over to see Oliver and her parents. “Good playing so far squirt.” Laurel teased, Sara sticking her tongue out at her older sister. Oliver and her parents laughed at the display, but her entire family and her boyfriend congratulated her and her playing. 

“You’re doing a great job sweetheart.” Her mother said. Sara grinned, before hearing Coach Carr call everyone back. 

“I’m sure you’ll win!” Oliver said to her retreating form. Back in their team huddle, Coach Carr decided to pull Sara, Caitlin, and Brie from the court for a little bit, putting Amaya back in, along with Jessica, Jesse, Mina, and Laura. Sara, Caitlin, and Brie cheered for their team as the game started its second half. Jessica was playing point guard in place of Sara and was doing a rather good job of it. Sara examined the plays they were making, trying to absorb the game in front of her. Cheering when her team scored points and encouraging her team when the other team scored. About halfway through the second half, Coach Carr put Sara, Brie, and Caitlin back in, pulling Jessica, Amaya, and Laura from the court. 

Mina passed the ball to Sara, who walked it down the court, being guarded by the different girl than the first half. But Sara had been watching the girl closely and noticed she heavily favored her right side, so when she crossed the half court line, she faked right then broke left, looking for a pass and finding one in Caitlin, whom she quickly passed to. Caitlin went in for a layup but was blocked by one of the Central City players. 

However, a whistle was blown to stop the game. “Foul on number 5. Two shots for Highland.” He announced. The Central City team and fans groaned but complied with the referee’s call. Each girl took their places around the key as Caitlin stepped up to the free throw line. She dribbled a couple of times before shooting her first throw, sinking the ball easily. Their score ticked up one point. The ball was passed back to Caitlin, all the girls around the key getting ready to grab the ball should she miss. 

Caitlin dribbled a couple more times, shooting her second free throw, which unfortunately bounced off the rim. Mina, however, was there to grab the ball, being the tallest girl on the court, throwing it back up quickly and managing to, luckily, get it in, giving Highland another two points. Sara gave the girl a high five as their team ran down the court to guard their respective players. This time, Sara was defending a shooting guard, so she just kept herself glued to her player as they tried to find an opening. 

The game continued like that, ending with the ball in the position of Sara, who only had a few seconds until the buzzer went off. She sprinted down the court, throwing a half-court shot just as the end buzzer rang, coming up very short, but it was better to try and miss with the chance of success rather than not try at all in her mind. She looked up at the scoreboard, cheering along with her team to see that they had won the game with a score of 35 to Central City’s score of 28. 

Each team ran over to the respective coaches. They then formed a line to high five the other team, repeating ‘good game’ over and over to them. Sara, then, ran over to Oliver and her family, Oliver standing up to hug her and congratulate her on a game well won. “You did great!” He said. “I told you that you’d be good.”

Sara whacked him on the shoulder. “You have to say that though.” She teased. 

“We all knew you’d do well,” Laurel said as well, getting up from her seat and stretching. 

“Tell you what, to celebrate your first game, we’ll all go out for ice cream, my treat,” Quintin said. Sara smiled, nodding eagerly. 

“Thanks dad!” She said excitedly. 

He smiled at her. “Of course kiddo. Oliver, you’re welcome to come as well.” He offered. Oliver thanked Quintin and accepted his offer. 

“Let me go get my stuff,” Sara said. Oliver nodded, letting go of Sara who jogged back over to the bleacher to grab her things. 

“Coach Carr, my parents are going to take me home.” She said, letting her coach know she was leaving. He looked over at her. 

“Okay, Lance. Have a good night. You played well today.” He said. Sara felt a rush of pride as the compliment from their tough coach. 

“Thanks!” She said animatedly before heading back to her family. They all walked down the hall to the gym where the varsity team had played. She saw that their game had also just ended. Her eyes zeroed in on Ava, who was standing in front of a graying, older man who was patting Ava on the shoulder. She assumed that was Ava’s father. Ava looked up, catching Sara’s eye. The varsity player immediately looked away, and Sara felt a sinking feeling in the bottom of her stomach. She hoped she hadn’t messed up what little friendship she had with Ava over something so stupid. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Biggest apologies I haven't updated this in a month! I've been having a devil of a time coming up with this chapter, add in on top of that I was busy for the last couple of weeks of October with a big work event... 
> 
> Anyway, this is Sara's first real game! I thought she did pretty well all things considering. Of course, she's not perfect, no one is at this age (even ever really). But she's talented at the game, for sure. 
> 
> Avalance drama! It'll still be a while before they get together, but better to work out their friendship before that time comes. The middle school portion of this story probably won't last that much longer. A few more chapters at most before we get to high school where the fun really starts. There will be a few more plot points for the middle school section though, some that might have to do with Ava and Sara, maybe possibly, being on the same team for their 8th grade year... :^)
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed. It's been a long time since I've played basketball myself so I'm mostly going off of memory of what it was like to play at that level and age. Especially because I don't watch sports at all, most of the game descriptions will be based solely on my memories. Maybe not ideal, but it kind of does make it that much more authentic, right? Right???


	9. Friendship

I.

Sara sat around the small table with her family and boyfriend, licking her ice cream cone as she listened to Laurel and Oliver give her a play by play of what it was like watching the game. “And then you made that overhead pass to Catlin to take the jump shot and ‘Whoosh!’” Oliver said, making a fake shot from his seat. 

“And the crowd went wild!” Laurel joined in, all three kids laughing while Sara and Laurel’s parents sat at another table, smiling at their daughters and Oliver. 

“You really think we did that well?” Sara questioned. Oliver and Laurel both nodded. 

“You played well for your first game ever squirt,” Laurel said, nudging her sister who just rolled her eyes. She had long gotten used to Laurel’s nickname for her but that didn’t mean she had to like it. 

“I told you that you’d be good. If you keep on playing like you did tonight, I’m sure you’ll make varsity next year!” Oliver chimed in. Sara grinned, albeit a little shyly. 

“You think?” Sara asked. Laurel and Oliver both nodded. 

“For your first year playing, you’re doing really well. And you’ve got a year to practice. We can play over the summer if you want?” Oliver offered. Sara shrugged, still not fully committed to joining the team the next year. She enjoyed the sport so far, but it was still early. They still had a couple of months left of the season. She’d make her decision after she had played a full season and decided she wanted to commit to it. Though she knew that Amaya and Caitlin would probably beg her to continue to play, so that was something to factor in as well. 

“High school ball is super different too.” Laurel chimed in. Sara looked at her sister questioningly. “I have a few friends that play.” Laurel clarified, being two years Sara’s senior, she had already started high school. “It seems a lot more intense. Though if you love the game, then I think it’s well worth it.” 

“I’ll think about it,” Sara said. Oliver nodded, holding Sara’s free hand under the table. 

“Well, regardless of your plans, you’re doing awesome so far! Certainly an incentive to keep coming to your games.” Oliver teased. Sara gasped mockingly, nudging him with her shoulder. Not too softly either. “What? Let’s be honest here, it’s way more fun to watch you guys win! And if you keep playing like that, you’ll keep winning.” Oliver grinned. Laurel rolled her eyes. 

“But we’d support you if you could barely dribble a ball though,  _ right _ Oliver?” Laurel said, giving Oliver a withering look. The boy shrunk a little in his seat. Laurel Lance was certainly not someone to mess with. 

“Yeah, of course.” He said quickly, Laurel leaning back in her chair, seemingly satisfied with his answer. “We’re in this together!” Sara laughed, nodding. She had never pictured her life turning out like this when her family moved to Central City.

II.

The next day Sara was able to sleep in a little. Coach Carr had canceled practice that day as a game day recovery. Sara had been somewhat surprised that their tough as nails coach had canceled, but wasn’t complaining. She was beat. The extra sleep was welcomed. 

At school, her entire team was buzzing with their first win. Before classes started, Caitlin and Amaya talked her ear off about how well she had done for her first game. “We’ll make varsity next year for sure! I heard a couple of girls already saying they aren’t going to play next year, so we totally have a shot!” Amaya near shouted. Sara chuckled, shrugging. 

“We still have to make it through  _ this _ year Amaya.” She replied. 

“Yeah, but we can at least think about it!” Amaya insisted. Caitlin laughed along with Sara, but they both agreed that it would at least be cool to imagine being on varsity. Before long though, the bell rang and everyone wandered off to their first class of the day. 

Sara took her usual seat near the back of her English class. She mostly kept to herself for that period. Luckily, Wilson rarely, if ever, assigned group or partner work so she was left to work alone in peace. However, this was also the class she shared with Ava and after their testy interaction before their game, she felt a little awkward seeing her again. 

She perked up when Ava walked into the classroom. The girl had to walk by her to get to her own seat, so Sara looked up at the girl. Ava briefly glanced Sara’s way as she walked by, but the two said nothing to each other and Ava quickly broke eye contact as she took her seat next to Gary. Sara sighed. It seemed like Ava had really taken that discussion personally. 

It’s not like she had meant to upset Ava. Not really. She just struggled to understand Ava. She found it difficult to reconcile the friendly, if a little shy, girl that she played basketball with and the cool, detached one that she had class with. She really did just genuinely want to be friends with her. Ava was nice enough, and Sara found herself, for some inexplicable reason, just wanting to be around her. Like her aura was magnetic. 

Sara made a decision then and there. She would apologize to Ava and try to be a friend. 

She listened to Mr. Wilson drone on about whatever the curriculum was about. English class was not Sara’s strong suit and as such she just skated by with minimal effort. She was actually about to nod off before the shrill ring of the bell signifying the end of class sounded. Sara quickly packed up her things, wanting to catch Ava before she left. She shoved her books in her backpack, jumping up from her seat to catch Ava exiting the classroom. She scurried after her.

“Ava!” Sara called out. Ava paused, looking over her shoulder. Seeing Sara she groaned, rolling her eyes, but stopped and waited for her to catch up. 

“What is it, Sara?” She asked, the iciness not hidden from her voice. 

“I just… can we talk later?” Sara asked, mindful that they both had another class to get to. “Like, at lunch?” She continued. Ava kept walked towards her next class after Sara had caught up and although Sara’s next class was in the opposite direction, she kept following her. 

“I don’t know what there is to talk about Sara. We’re teammates. I respect that and will continue to respect that. But off the court, we really don’t have anything to talk about.” Ava said curtly. Sara groaned. 

“Look, I just want to say I’m sorry!” She blurted out. “And we don’t have time now to talk about it, but just give me five minutes, please? Then if you want, I’ll leave you alone.” She said, putting herself out there nervously. Ava stopped walking for a second. 

She turned to Sara. “Fine. Five minutes. You know where to find me during lunch. Now, get to your next class or you’re going to be late.” She said, turning on her heel without another word. Sara internally cheered before nearly sprinting off to her next class which was nearly on the other side of the quad. 

III. 

Sara’s mind was on what she was going to say to Ava for the rest of her morning classes. She had five minutes to make her case. To be honest, for part of the morning, she had no idea why she was trying so hard. It’s not like she was lacking friends. She had Caitlin, Amaya, Oliver and the rest of their friend group, like Felicity, Iris, Mick, Leo, and Barry. But there was something about Ava that made Sara want to befriend her. She chalked it up to have very few friends outside of her circle and while she loved all her friends, she did want to have at least one person that wasn’t a part of the circle or her family. 

She thought about how exactly she would approach Ava. She knew that she touched a nerve before the game yesterday, and she still really didn’t understand Ava’s averseness to socializing more, but she supposed there was a reason. Probably from before she moved to Central City. Sara figured the way to go was not to push. Ava seemed to always shut her down when Sara questioned too much. She didn’t want to step on eggshells around her if Ava was receptive to her, but she also didn’t need to pry. If she wanted to be friends with her teammate, it would likely have to be on her terms, which Sara was fine with. Ava seemed like the kind of person that could easily get under Sara’s skin even if she wasn’t trying. But Sara sort of wanted something like that in a friend. She loved Caitlin and Amaya but they had a very non-confrontational friendship. 

Not to say Sara wanted conflict in her friendships all the time, but she wanted someone to challenge her. Someone to talk to that didn’t just agree with her most, if not all, of the time. Ava could be that person. Before she knew it, it was time for lunch. Sara got up from her seat, gathering her wits and heading to the cafeteria. 

She stopped off by her usual table, Oliver automatically making a space for her next to him. She shook her head. “I’ll be back. Just letting you guys know I haven’t been kidnapped or anything.” She said. 

“Where are you going?” Someone said. To her surprise, it was the deep growl of Mick Rory. She was not the closest with him, as he usually was more involved with his food and throwing little wads of paper at passing students. 

“Need to do something.” She mumbled. Mick shrugged, going back to his sandwich. 

“Do you need help? Oliver asked. Sara shook her head. 

“No, this is something I have to do alone.” She said. He nodded, getting up and kissing her cheek. 

“Okay. Good luck.” He said, having no clue what she was about to do, but she appreciated that he supported her nonetheless and didn’t pressure her for details. She nodded, steeling her nerves before walking over to where she knew Ava would be. She and Gary usually sat alone, tucked away in a corner. She spotted them, the two of them eating their lunch and talking. She gulped before walking over to them. Gary spotted her first, whispering something to Ava who also looked up and sighed. She got up from her seat. 

“C’mon. Let’s get this over with.” She said somewhat grumpily. She led Sara over to an unoccupied corner of the cafeteria. “Okay Sara, you have five minutes.” She said, folding her arms. Now that Sara was here, her voice got caught in her throat, so instead, she just stared at Ava for a few seconds, the two standing in silence. Ava rolled her eyes. “Really Sara, I don’t have time for this.” She said, about to walk away since Sara was paralyzed in place. The shorter blonde shook her head, grabbing hold of Ava’s wrist. 

“Wait. I’m sorry.” Sara said, Ava, stopping and turning, wrenching her wrist out of Sara’s grip in the process. “I just… I’m sorry.” She said again, her rehearsed speech forgotten. 

“You said that already. Is that all Sara? Because you didn’t need to meet up just to say that.” Ava huffed. 

“No, that’s not it. I was out of line yesterday. I didn’t mean to offend you or bring something up. My mind was elsewhere, my first game and all you know? And I kind of just blurted stuff out.” Sara said. Ava sighed, relaxing a little in front of Sara. 

“I shouldn’t have snapped at you.” She admitted. “You were just being friendly.” She sighed. “My social life was much to be desired at my last school. No one ever wants to be friends with the weird kid who beats up on their classmates in PE, inadvertently might I add. And then excels in all her classes because her dad doesn’t accept anything less than perfect.” She shrugged. “I learned keeping to myself is for the best. People let you down.” She said, almost casually. Sara frowned. 

“What about Gary?” She asked curiously. “You really hit it off with him.” Ava smiled a little. 

“One can usually pick out the nerds, especially ones that are loners, especially when you are one. I took a chance. He turned out to be okay.” She said. “But you.” Ava started and Sara internally cringed. “Popular kids usually turn out to be the ones that let you down the most.” She said with a shrug. 

“They’re not like that you know.” Sara defended her friends, mostly Caitlin, Amaya, and Oliver. She knew Mick and Snart weren’t the most reliable, though they were very close to each other. Felicity was something of a gossip. And ever since Barry and Iris had started dating a few months ago, they barely had time for anything besides each other. “Most of the time.” She admitted. 

“You’re one of them, Sara.” She said as though it explained everything. And to some degree it did. One of the reasons Ava was so wary of Sara, she reasoned, was because she was one of them. And if Ava distrusted the popular kids, she would, by extension, distrust her. 

“I really don’t think it’s fair to judge me as a person by my friends.” She retorted. Ava raised an eyebrow. 

“You think I’m wrong?” She asked. Sara nodded. 

“Look, I get you think I’m trying to be your friend out of pity or whatever, but I honestly just like you. You’re cool.” She said. Ava scoffed. “I’m serious!” She insisted. “You easily could be one of the most popular kids here. You’re smart, athletic, pretty, literally a triple threat!” Sara said. 

Instead, Ava just shrugged. “I prefer keeping to myself.” She said simply. 

“Well, can I sit with you and Gary today at least then?” Sara asked. Ava frowned.

“Why? Don’t you have friends and a boyfriend to get back to?” She questioned.

“I see them all the time, you said that you’re friendly on the court because you respect the team. Wouldn’t it be to the team’s advantage for us to at least be friendly off the court too?” She asked. Ava raised an eyebrow, but nodded slowly in agreement, gesturing for Sara to follow her back to her table. Inside, Sara was cheering herself on. She had managed to crack through one wall. Though she knew if she really wanted to be friends with Ava, it would take many more as well as proving to her that she was in it for the long haul. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I'm sorry I haven't updated this in so long. My brain has really not been in a writing space for a while. Anyway, how about the Legends season? I've been super into it. 
> 
> I was thinking about one thing while I was writing this chapter, is this too dramatic a response for a relatively little disagreement in the last chapter? And where I ended up was that they're in middle school. They're about 12-13 ish. Everything is a big fucking deal at that age. Especially because Sara has long wanted to be real friends with Ava. If they were adults, yeah, it's probably overkill. But I remember being an angsty little shit when I was 12. Every little disagreement felt like a huge fight, even though in retrospect it was literally not worth talking about.
> 
> I also don't believe in one-sided friendships but it's really all about cracking through Ava's icy exterior. So we'll get to a reciprocation, probably in the somewhat near future. They are going to be best friends before they start dating so... 
> 
> Also, consider at this point, Sara doesn't acknowledge she's into girls either. Again, this isn't going to (necessarily) be a coming out story but she's going to have to at some point. I think we all know, as wlw, the early stage of "I have really weird and strong feelings for this girl I know. I MUST WANT TO BE BEST FRIENDS WITH THEM." Or at least, I experienced that. Dunno about everyone else. 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed. I'll be trying to update everything sometime this week, so if you're following anything else of mine, keep an eye out for updates.


End file.
